Devil Summoner Naruto
by Terra ace
Summary: There wasn't much that surprised the Shinobi world. Demons, bloodlines, ninjas flying everywhere, doing things that would shatter the mind...now when a Devil Summoner appears, should the mind fear what shatters the Shinobi World? Naruto begins to unravel the truth between his world, and the world of a long lost era...
1. Devil Summoner Naruto

_What if Naruto discovered he could see things that others can't? Finding a mentor in a spirit that finds the last of the special blood in Naruto, he passes the power that allows him to use his special abilities to protect himself..._

_The Power of the Devil Summoner..._

_**X-X-X-X**_

_**Future Stamp: 02/01/2012**_

_**Author's Note/Revision: I've taken it upon myself to rewrite the beginning and replace any missing or out of touch words, see if you can spot them.**_

_**X-X-X-X**_

Chapter One: Devil Summoner Naruto

There was once a village, a village of Ninja and civilians that worked together to prosper. For Civilization, it was a free ticket to protection. For the Ninja, it was a central base of operations, to raise and nurture a select few to take on their mantle when they fade away.

Eventually, their reasons in forming the village was blurred and enough time has passed where no one can really recollect why they settled down, other than some outlandish reasons.

The story begins in this very village. A village called Konoha, and the story of the young man named Naruto Uzumaki.

**X-X**

It was winter season, and in the middle of January in Konoha village. The local weather Ninja predicted that this particular day was to be recorded to be the worst winter day in the history of the usually warm climate village. Granted, they have their share of snow days, but there have been reports that the average temperature had been steadily declining in the last decade. Some have been saying something completely erratic like a lack of faith to a sort of sun deity, despite having no actual evidence that a deity even existed.

Like any civilization, there are many diverse opinions. Some believed in something A, and some believed in something B. When ideologies clashed, there were many incidents, forcing Konoha's Ninja forces to step in and act as a police force.

Despite their differences, there was one target that they unified against. It was incredible to believe that the one they united against was a small boy.

Naruto Uzumaki can easily say that the village did not like him, but he couldn't for the life of him find out why**. **He wasn't sure, but he would swear that everyone seemed to notice him the moment he stepped out of his apartment and into the merchant district, where most civilians would go for the local markets and equipment shops. One minute everyone was acting normal and happy, and the moment he stepped foot into the edge of the district, everyone would just stare angrily at him.

He was used to these stares now, but it was a completely different case when he was younger. When he was four, around the same time he spent the last year huddled with a bunch of orphan children from the Kyuubi attack, he was treated to a particularly rougher confrontation with some half-wit drunk men.

He wasn't hurt since their swipes were so clumsy, that he could have spat in their face before moving backwards in the time they tried to hit him. Naturally, he wasn't so low that he did that, but the report that summoned him to the Hokage's office told a very different story.

He tried to tell his story to the Old Man, but he was constantly interrupted by the "distraught" civilian, who was sporting gashes that both the Hokage, and the ninja mediating the dispute saw that those injuries could not have been done by a child's nails. Since the victim didn't accuse him of carrying weapons, instead hysterically claiming that he grew big red claws to tear apart his defenseless self, he was sure of his case against the boy would succeed. Only his imagination could contain the fantasies of what the brat would get as punishment. He didn't notice three things. The stares that the older Hokage and the Ninja around him gave, the obvious flaws in his claims, and the fact that he didn't know how to present a believable case to the highest power in their village.

Regardless, he was told that it would get handled properly and that was somehow enough for him to leave.

Afterward, the Hokage asked for his version of what happened and Naruto told them what he could remember of the night, which involved taking a shortcut that really wasn't back to the orphanage. To the Hokage's recollection however, Naruto wasn't this calm.

In fact, he remembered that the usually proud boy was close to crying in fear to the "Old Man" when he arrived in his office that day. Rather than reprimanding the boy, he had to find another way to limit these headache inducing meetings...if he could call them that. It also occurred to him that the more vengeful civilians could have followed him to the orphanage and posed a threat to the either the children or the matron taking care of the blonde boy.

So the idea came to him...why not let him live on his own? A place where he would be looked after by both the people living there and the secrecy of his location known only to Hokage?

Since then, Naruto was relocated to the Ninja Residential District.

When Naruto asked why he was being moved there (although he wasn't really complaining, since the kids were real jerks), the Old Man changed the subject rather quickly and turned the direction of the conversation to a rather friendly Ramen stand that opened up near his new home a few years ago. Naruto, whose mind wasn't as refined (although he would claim differently) as a seasoned shinobi, instantly fell for it and started asking the Hokage about the new restaurant.

A sudden gust of wind broke Naruto's path of memory lane, although he wasn't as affected as the people around him, shivering even worse than him at some points.

Naruto always wondered why these people were wearing so much clothes, but shivering as if they were wearing nothing more than a flimsy shirt? He wasn't particularly dressed for the occasion, but he wasn't as affected as them and he was wearing a simple sweater! Although...it might have helped him that he had a knitted scarf that Ayame, the daughter of the owner of the best shop in the universe, Ichiraku's Ramen, gave him with a kiss to the cheek one birthday afternoon a year back.

According to Ayame, he has never blushed as brightly since then. Naruto still denied that he even turned a hint of red!

He even joked about it sometimes, saying loudly that he had a secret fire inside his belly that kept him warm all the time!

He would get weird and sometimes horrified looks whenever he said that out in the open.

He was enjoying the scarcity of the civilian populace in the main market square today. Not too many glares from the civilians today since it was so cold. He could see the astonishment of some people here and there, as if wondering what god damned them and blessed him to dress so lightly in the harshest winter of Konoha history.

Today, he was off to play in the park, since he considered this day to be his special day with no jerks like the local bullies to bother him while playing alone. Yep, it was going to be terrific!

Although, Naruto wondered silently. It was going to be pretty lonely... no one was there to talk to him, bully him, or even be far away from him! He didn't like the coldness of the people around him, but it was still nice to have human contact, even if they were nowhere near him. He found that he liked the presence of human life around his young being.

As he arrived in the park, he saw that the park was indeed empty like he thought. The swings were barren and the sand was mixed in with the snow, making it some sort of grainy slush. He also spied another makeshift swing on a tree a little ways away from the main equipment. Naruto grinned and swung the lone wooden swing like he always wanted: Standing on it.

After a few long swings, he wanted to try something he always wanted to do and begun twisting his body and watched how the swing twisted like a tightly wound piece of rope. It was a bit exhilarating how he could act on impulse, without anyone like a bully bothering him or even that overbearing teacher he was forced to call sensei to at the academy telling him to stop.

Naruto frowned, his mind thinking back to a few weeks back. His teacher was pretty vindictive that day, and on his birthday of all days!

Now that he thought about it, what was wrong with using paint as a distraction to a problem anyways? Even he knew he could use pellets to hold paint and his opponent would be distracted when he threw them. However, his sensei just chewed him out in front of the class and explained that paint wasn't the norm and was less effective than a smoke bomb, which another of the students present helpfully supplied.

Naruto frowned at the memory, what did that guy know? He was Naruto Uzumaki, and if he wanted to use paint for a technique, then no one would stop him! He was the future Hokage after all!

His mental rant cost him his concentration however. He didn't pay attention how the twisting wasn't in his control and he began unraveling at uncontrolled speeds, making him panic as he tried to steer it back into his control and was failing at it.

Sure enough, the force of the unraveling swing promptly threw him off the swing a couple of feet and he landed on his head before his body crumbled from gravity and landed awkwardly onto the floor.

As he was clearing his sore head from snow and dirt, he could have sworn that he was seeing things.

He saw something strange. A young girl was playing around in the snow a few feet from where he fell. The girl didn't seem to notice him and was having fun just touching the snow, not noticing her surroundings. Naruto sometimes wished he was so enthralled by the little things in life like the girl was doing. He wondered if she wasn't able to get out often or slipped away from her parents.

As he was observing her, something about her confused him. He might have been over thinking it, but he couldn't be sure what the girl looked like. It was as if her looks were not registering in his memories somehow, but he was able to remember people just fine, like Ayame or the Old Man!

Then he remembered how some of the children told the other children (with him listening in) that this area was haunted by spirits of the dead. One of which was a little girl who always played in snow...wait...

He turned to the girl, who was now alert of her surroundings and watching the skies with a mixture of intensity and alarm. Could that girl possibly be?

Naruto paled in fear, having never told anyone that he was afraid of those ghost stories. Was this the girl from one of the stories? A ghost girl?

Almost on cue, the girl turned to him and was astonished. Naruto was equally surprised, and it didn't take long for his paranoia of the supernatural to take effect. He suddenly scrambled out of the area, trying very hard not to admit that he both feared the girl and that his bladder had decided to give up and it took his will to hold it in.

If he looked back however, the girl had her arm raised toward him and was looking sad that he ran away. She then faded away, feeling rejected at the boy's departure.

**X-X**

It was a somewhat slow day in the Hokage Tower, and the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wished that the mechanics of the Tower followed suit. Alas, it wasn't to be...the paperwork kept coming and he sometimes didn't even know who kept making the infernal things!

For example, he was staring at one form that somehow needed his signature on...he peered closer in disbelief. He expected to sign off on mandatory Icha-Icha volumes included as standard gear for Jounins!

He paused, maybe that wasn't such a bad idea...No! No!

Rejecting it, he moved on to the next form.

A request to include Pocky bars as standard rations? Confused, he looked at the date and wondered how long was that thing in the process stage and was startled...three years ago?

He sighed in frustration and in resignation. He really shouldn't have gotten this job back.

Day in and day out he had to sign this, initial that, it never ended!

It did have a bright side to it though.

Sometimes when Naruto came in on official business(read: being caught), he was granted a brief respite from signing those damnable forms and he had a chance to talk to Naruto and question his well being sometimes. When Naruto just came in for the hell of it, he was also given a well deserved break (read: abandoned paperwork) and had time to talk to the energetic lad.

Something felt off though, and Hiruzen had an inkling why.

He had a full fire roaring in the fireplace, and he found it odd that it was cold somehow. Maybe it was in his mind, but he felt that without Naruto, it felt colder somehow.

Speaking of Naruto, where was the boy? Usually, his locator crystal on his bookshelf would tell him where he was at all times, but he didn't like to use it for preserving the chakra stored in the artifact. It was originally the first Hokage's prized possession and he liked to think it was a privilege to care for and to keep it functional as a duty to the first leader of this village.

Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't use it to keep track of his favorite hellion, would it?

Grabbing the the crystal from the middle shelf, Hiruzen settled it in front of him and closed his eyes for a moment as he gathered up his chakra to power the artifact. He then thought about Naruto in order to locate him through the crystal.

Of all emotions he expected Naruto to have when he peered into the crystal, it certainly wasn't distress.

He was surprised to see Naruto in the forested area of the Hokage Monument. He usually was in the park around this time of the day, but he understood that it was so lonely today because of the fierce storm outside.

He frowned however, at the panicked look that the boy sported suddenly before he started dashing toward the monument. He looked toward the area where the boy was supposed to be and nothing strange was happening in terms of chakra...however, he didn't rule out that some idiot villager was out to get him in some romanticized quest of revenge and honor. Of course, it could be nothing and the boy was playacting but...

To be sure, he called his on-site intelligence officer within the Anbu ranks. After a few words with him, the officer concluded that no foreign chakra was detected by the agents in the field. Confounded, he dismissed the officer and continued to watch the fleeing boy before he lost the image on his chakra orb. He tried increasing the chakra input on the crystal but the image of the boy he grew to think of his grandson wouldn't appear again.

He called for the Anbu squad in the area and ordered them to watch over the boy through the on-site Anbu officer. He could only pray that his successor's legacy was safe and sound.

**X-X**

Naruto was officially freaked out. He was so sure that he was seeing things, at least that was what he told himself that repeatedly. There was no way that a blob of green...whatever was chasing him all over the forest while spewing drawn out sounds that seemed to be words at him! There was no damn way!

He looked back and grimaced at the thought that the thing was awfully quick for having no bone structure...and how was that thing still talking to him?

The gelatinous thing was still chasing him. He was also saying phrases like "SSSTTTOOOP! I WANNNTTTED TOOO TALKKK!" and "COOOME HEREEE! I WANNT TOOO SEE WHAT YOOU TASTED LIIIKE!"

Naruto scoffed, he wasn't stopping for anyone, especially not that thing!

Naruto groaned as the thing still chased him and he cursed the teacher for being lax in teaching them how to use weapons. He really could have used some kunai training right about now!

After dashing through numerous trees and going in zig-zagging patterns through them, Naruto was sure that he eluded that 'whatever the hell that thingy' was. Pausing, he took a breath of fresh air into his lungs. It was sure sweet to inhale that wonderful chemical in the air...not that he knew what a chemical was, but he was tired, so he didn't care. He was about to take another gulp when something sounded above him and it didn't feel natural.

Another rustle from the treeline above put him on instant alert when he heard another rustle that was eerily close. A growl and a line of drool landing on his shoulder was all it took to give him a pale complexion.

Dreading the outcome and mentally kicking himself for such a reflex move, Naruto looked up and groaned.

A humanoid looking thing was looking at him hungrily, licking his lips in anticipation. He seemed monster-like, with pointed ears and red eyes that were shifting from normal round irises to slit like irises. Suddenly, the monster roared and lunged at Naruto.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Naruto said loudly and bolted from his resting spot. Once again, he took off running into the woods, the demonic monster behind him.

Not noticing that he was climbing higher and higher, Naruto briefly wondered whether or not he should work out more when he started to get winded from the lack of air. He wasn't like this whenever he climbed the Monument, and that was pretty high.

Wherever this was, he wasn't on Konoha territory anymore. He had no time to think on it though, that crazy monster was still after him!

Dashing through the rocky path in the unfamiliar area, Naruto was suddenly pulled up by the collar of his shirt by a surprisingly strong slender arm onto a higher path. Confused, but relieved at the same time, Naruto saw the monster like thing look for him before rounding the corner of the path he was on. He turned to see his savior only to stare in confusion as he saw a young teenage woman with black hair and a bikini that didn't seem to leave any part of her body it was covering with a hint of breathing room. He could tell that the girl was a teenager due to the developing breasts on her chest. A kimono was covering her back and her hair was wet so Naruto concluded that she must have been taking a bath or something when she saw him.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked, her eyes looking playful. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would say that she was ogling him.

Naruto nodded, it was only polite to respond to his savior. The girl giggled and helped him stand, and Naruto could only nod dumbly as she did so.

Her words at this point should have been a warning sign, but his thought process was muddled somehow. Naruto didn't seem to mind that too much though.

"Mmm...I haven't had _it _in a long, long time...I like em young." The girl giggled and started to lure him to a secluded area. Naruto's instincts were dulled as he followed her. It was almost as if she had him under a spell. A spell that he wouldn't mind being under forever though, although he couldn't reason why that was though.

Soon after, he lazily noticed where he was being lead to. At first, he thought it was some sort of house, but the girl was leading him to a cavern of all places! It was weird, Naruto thought but it didn't matter to him at all.

The girl smiled as she led him to bed of sorts within the cavern. It really did seem that this was her home, Naruto thought as his glazed over eyes were roaming over the girl's body. Something that delighted the girl to no end.

"Mmm...I just love being appreciated! Now hold still...I am going to make you a man soon enough..." The girl removed her kimono and that almost sounded the red alert alarms in his head if his brain wasn't somewhere else at the moment. When the girl removed the robe, two wings sprouted almost magically from her back! Naruto was sure that those wings weren't supposed to be there and somehow, he noticed, the black hair on the girl's head seemed to gloss over, making it even darker if that was possible.

The girl had a thoughtful frown while all of this was going on, as if she was perplexed about something.

"Its strange though, I didn't even make an effort to be visible...I don't think I ever had to snag something this easy before...heehee..." the girl giggled and straddled the boy. With a sultry smile, she began to remove her top so agonizingly slow for Naruto...even though he didn't know why.

Just before she was to remove the cloth before her budding breasts, she kicked off from Naruto roughly, all the while snarling in an unladylike manner. During the process, Naruto's senses woke up from the spell she put him under and his mind was racing to comprehend what the hell had just happened. He was trying to find out why he found himself in a strange place far from the cliff he entered this strange world from Konoha. The last he could remember was that something pulled him out of the way and that was it. When he looked around his new surroundings, he gazed upon the debacle that was making so much noise.

Suffice to say, it wasn't what you saw everyday.

A tiny girl in a blue bodysuit with wings that were much smaller than the larger, more imposing winged girl was facing off against the bigger girl in the fiercest glare match he hadn't seen since Ino and Sakura's fight a few weeks back. The fight which broke their friendship was all about the pettiest thing if he could recall correctly...ah, that was it! He recalled it was about that one boy...Sasuke Uchiha. A noise much like an unsheathing of a sword caused him to turn away from that stray thought. Naruto watched on with interest as the larger girl swiped at the tiny girl with enlarged nails, something that he didn't notice before.

"Arrgh! How dare you ruin my plaything! You pixies always do this!" The winged girl growled out. The tiny girl, a Pixie, smiled mischievously. To Naruto, he believed that he was seeing Ino and Sakura all over again. Only in different sizes and voices.

"Heeheehee! Now now, we can't have our sacrifice be defiled by your schemes!" The Pixie laughed haughtily at the fuming girl, while Naruto got a feeling of depression. For a minute there, he thought he was saved.

But of course, he was slated to be a sacrifice...

During his thoughts, the two...women, he supposed they were that, started to speak in weird chants and gathered some intense light in their hands before calling out some sort of weird jutsu. The resulting power of these jutsu was something he had never seen that before, at least not anything ninja were willing to use in front of him. The intensity of these "jutsu" made his eyes water and also widen comically as the tiny girl was going head to head in raw power against the bigger girl. With each cast or throw, each "jutsu" was either being deflected, canceled with a "jutsu" of equal power, or just being dodged.

After a display of pure power from this fight, an unknown sense alerted him to another presence. His eyes traveled to the exit of the cave that winged girl led him to and he saw a most peculiar figure...

A cat.

What got Naruto unnerved that the cat had this subtle aura of confidence that the cat kept showing off while he strutted around the battlefield, looking at the battle between the two demons much like an opponent views a weaker opponent; like an annoyance. Well, that and the fact that the cat was talking to him.

"Come on, lets leave these demons alone." The cat ordered, as if used to commanding people. Naruto wasn't going to argue with a talking cat who can obviously shrug off the light show the girls were showing off.

Picking himself up, Naruto started to follow the cat out of the cave before a shout of indignation came from behind him. Both the cat and Naruto turned to see the girls glaring at both him and the cat. By the looks on their faces and lack of hostility between them, Naruto figured that they formed a truce in order to capture their target lover/sacrifice.

"OOOH! That cat is interfering again! I won't let them get away! Get them, Lilim!" The Pixie shouted to the winged girl demon, Lilim.

Lilim glared at the impudence of the trash that would dare order her around.

"You do not order me around! I'll catch him and have my way with him, you lowly Pixie!" Lilim growled back as she started to charge a yellow light in her hands before holding it in one hand outstretched toward the duo.

Naruto noticed that the cat was tensing up and he felt wary about how to dodge such a display of power from the girl's hands.

"Zio!" Lilim cried before throwing the technique at them like a ball. It missed a few feet in front of them but the shout of warning from the cat to dodge the ball's direction proved useful as the ball of yellow energy expanded like lightning jutsu in a straight line for them. Naruto barely missed the energy from zapping him like a lightning rod by falling on his butt trying to dodge it.

After the ball of lightning, Zio, dissipated, the cat spoke to Naruto.

"You, boy, can you fight?" The cat said to the bewildered boy. He knew something about fighting, but it was mostly improvised brawling.

"A little...I don't know anything professional thou-" he was cut off by the cat telling him to dodge a green ball of energy thrown near them that expanded into a mini tornado of sorts. He was furthered confounded that the talking cat threw a weapon at him somehow.

"Use that! It isn't a sword, but It'll help you against these two!" Naruto was confused at the cat's words. He was no weapons expert or nothing, but this thing that was thrown at his feet really did look like a sword...

Not wanting to explain, the cat shouted at the boy, feeling a familiar migraine sport on his temple.

"You'll see what I mean! Now start swinging!" The cat ordered as the two demons became fiercer with the sight of the weapon.

As soon as Naruto gripped the sword that isn't a sword, he felt something light up within his mind. It was almost as if he unlocked a memory of himself using a weapon such as this, but there was no possible way, was there?

The Cat that was with him stood silently to the side, it was as he thought...

_'That boy...I thought I would never see another one in my time as a dweller in this world...'_

Acting on his new instincts, Naruto rushed toward the startled Pixie who didn't expect such a performance with the way the boy was acting earlier. She screamed in pain as the sword turned into an Axe made of blue energy and cut her cleanly in two from the mid waist down. She was shaking as if her very soul was self destructing, but didn't part without any words.

"No...Way! There wasn't supposed to be another one of _them _here! AARRGH!" the tiny girl screamed out as she exploded in a white light and what looked like blood covered her fading corpse.

The Lilim girl, didn't look phased by her battle partner's grizzly death and instead started to charge up another Zio ball to throw at Naruto, who was deemed too dangerous to seduce by her standards. She wanted _it _sure, but only from some unsuspecting, and defenseless sap.

The Cat spoke up again, this time in warning.

"Watch out boy, shes going to mutate that Zio spell into its area counterpart, Mazio! End this quickly, or you're finished!" The cat shouted orders to Naruto, who began running toward the Lilim.

"You're through boy! Mazio!" Lilim shouted as she threw the pulsing yellow sphere at Naruto, who caught it fully in the chest. The cat looked away, shaking its head in shame that the boy didn't react in time to dodge the harmful spell.

The Cat saw how the spell worked out dozens of times. The boy would stand still in shock as the spell fried all of his nerves throughout the body, making for a paralyzed target. The sudden lack of nerve functions would eventually lead to a total body shutdown, making the victim a motionless vegetable.

The boy screamed in agony as the spell was taking effect. He was bathed in a yellow light from the spell as it worked its intentions throughout his body until he landed in a heap, his sword dropped by his side. Something felt off to the cat though...then his eyes widened in realization.

What happened next wasn't to anyone's expectation, especially not to the Lilim. Naruto suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke!

"What? What happened to boy?" Lilim shouted as she scanned the area for the corpse of the boy she was sure she fried. The cat didn't say anything but its eyes darted above as he saw something glinting in the dark.

"Up here, Hag!" Naruto's voice sounded from above as he brought the sword down on the unsuspecting demon while holding it like an Axe. The sword once again glowed with a blue energy in the form of an Axe blade as he swung it downwards toward the stunned demon girl.

A large gash tore through her mid upper body and blood sprayed on contact with the magical sword. The girl screamed in agonizing pain as she tried to fly away from the demon swordsman masquerading as a boy in front of her. But it was not to be as the Cat shouted something at Naruto, who nodded and stabbed the fleeing demon through the stomach and into the wall behind her. A loud gasp and a crunching sound of bones being stabbed through to the wall was heard.

Lilim stared at the sword going through her stomach and the widened eyes of her slayer before laughing weakly at the scene.

"...I guess this is it for me..." Lilim paused to cough up blood that was sure to drown her before long. Naruto could only stare wide eyed at the scene and tried to pull the sword out of her but the Cat ordered him not to.

"Why?" The boy shouted at the cat. The cat could only stare at the dying demon as an answer.

"I was right about you...you were going to be such a fine man for my offspring if I succeeded..." Lilim took a few desperate gasps of air. Her vision was growing darker with each breath.

"It looks like this world isn't going to hell after all, if a _Devil Summoner _has arisen now...shame though, I would've loved to be your demon...after all...I honestly thought I could...love...you..." Lilim gasped one last time before exploding in a darker light than her fairy partner, signaling her end on her life.

Naruto could only stare in disbelief at her confession and the weight that he had just taken two lives, and he wasn't even a graduate from the academy yet...the pressure made his knees weak and he fell on them, but made no sign that he even knew he did it.

The Cat stared at the boy with complete neutrality. On one hand, this was probably the state the world has come to, since he could see that taking lives for the first time was hard on some people. On the other hand, the last time he checked, this world was currently using children to carry out assassinations... When he finished thinking about it, the cat could only do one thing it could do. It worked on his last pupil/partner, so it should work on him.

He pounced on the boy's arm, raised his paw against it and scratched the boy's arm in one fell swoop with a sharp claw, drawing blood and a pained hiss from the boy.

Now that he had his attention, the cat spoke harshly to the boy.

"Listen up boy! You must never feel pity for your enemies, ever! They were there to get you, to kill you! If you hadn't done what you had to, you would be raped by that Lilim or offered as a sacrifice to that insane Pixie's god. Now, wake up, baka!" The Cat stated to a flinching Naruto. No matter how sorry he felt for those demon like creatures, he knew that the Cat was right. It was them or him and today he chose himself.

That made the pain and shock of killing go away a little, actually.

The Cat straightened up and climbed aboard Naruto's shoulder and spoke softly into the boy's ear.

"I haven't seen so much talent with an Axe type sword in a very long while. In fact, the only one who showed this much talent was another apprentice I had back when I was alive." The Cat stated and Naruto was startled, this cat was a ghost cat?

"You-you're a ghost?" Naruto started to freak out badly. He hated ghosts...

The Cat rolled his eyes and spoke bluntly.

"Yes, yes, I am a ghost, but the only ghost in this area that saved your life." The Cat put pressure on its legs as it prepared to jump off the boy's shoulder.

"My name is Gouto, and I am one of the famous overseers to every swordsman who took up the name "Raidou Kuzunoha". I was one of the few members of the Yatagarasu who survived the great destruction nearly a millennium ago, and instead lived my natural, and supernatural life training other potentially gifted people the way of the sword."

The Cat, Gouto, paused before continuing.

"Very few ever had the privilege of doing combat the way you did against those demons. Most of my apprentices couldn't even see the outline of any demon at all. However, you have a talent that wasn't seen since the 14th took the mantle of "Raidou". I am here to train that talent before it disappears completely from this world."

Gouto paced around the empty cave and started to look around the perimeter of the cave before nodding his head.

"This will do nicely...ok, listen up boy. I have decided for you to train that talent of yours and become the world's newest D_evil Summoner_. You will sleep here, eat here, and train here as I cram nearly one thousand years of Yatagarasu knowledge into your head to prepare you into becoming this world's defender!"

Naruto sputtered as he was trying to get a word in the cat's declaration of his life.

"Wa-waitaminute! I'm training to become a ninja, so that I can become the Hokage!" He finally shouted out to the planning Gouto.

The cat looked at him weirdly. A ninja?

"A ninja? A Hokage? Has civilization turned back so greatly that it became a folklore fairy tale world? There is no such thing as a real ninja, not anymore. The closest to being ninja assassins are the Tsukigata, and they died off centuries ago! These people are fallacies of ninja, with their flashy "jutsu" and large explosions of the Mag that they call Chakra!"

"I will teach you the proper way to use the power that the gods haven given you, even though you use chakra than Mag. Since its so familiar, we can use the standard lesson plans of the Nameless Shrine's training grounds to train you in your swordplay."

"How am I gonna get home?" Naruto interrupted Gouto's planning. Gouto only stared at the boy, he really wanted this "Hokage" title...

"What good will going back do you, boy? You don't seem to be well liked, given those injuries that have healed over your body." Gouto said as he was looking over Naruto's body, where his eyes could see various healed wounds and gashes through his clothing. Naruto's eyes widened and looked over his clothing and wondered how could this cat see that?

"How can you do that?" Naruto asked, freaked out by Gouto's analysis of his physical history. Gouto scoffed.

"This is basic stuff I've been doing for decades. I don't even need to use anything advanced to see that a few more hits in certain areas will leave you disabled forever. If you go back now...you may never reach your dream of Hokage." Gouto said seriously at Naruto, whose eyes widened at the declaration.

"I...you..." Naruto sputtered as his wild hair covered his eyes. He looked downward as he weighed his options. Gouto turned and continued his plans for the newest recruit.

"Good. Now, in order to train eff-" He was cut off by a fuming Naruto.

"Screw you, you alley cat!" He shouted and effectively shut the cat up. Gouto was shocked at his rebellious charge and looked over his words before getting ticked off.

"Hey! Stop calling me that! I am no alley cat!" Gouto glared at his charge and he glared back just the same.

"I don't care for anyone telling what I can't do! If I want to be Hokage, then I'll damn try my hardest! Even if I lose both my arms and legs!" Naruto shouted, his dream threatened by Gouto's sharp words.

Gouto glared harder at the boy, great! He had another idiot for an apprentice...its becoming a fad lately too.

"I have idiots for apprentices...listen up, you baka! I'm not telling you that you can't be Hokage someday, I'm telling you that if you go back now, you are at risk of being passed over of being a Hokage! I am here to teach your hard headed brain the skills, the techniques and the social skills that come with being a devil summoner! Use those skills and you'll become your Hokage dream, if not better!"

Gouto was about to continue when he felt several presences behind the boy...it looked like his improvised training ground wasn't completely empty after all...

"Boy, how big is your home?" Gouto asked of Naruto, who felt his instincts flare up.

"Its kinda big...why?" He asked, looking around and gripping his magical sword.

"We are going to your home and practicing your skills there, for now we have to retreat. We aren't alone and we are nowhere near skilled enough to beat these demons alone." Gouto answered as he could see the demons more clearly. They weren't anything stronger than your usual demons here, but they were too tough for his charge for now.

"Lets go boy, its too dangerous to fight now." Gouto said as he went toward the exit. Naruto followed soon afterwards and a few moments later, several demons were looking confusedly at their retreat. One of the demons, a blue cap wearing thing made of snow looked at its brother, a pumpkin faced demon and said only one thing.

"Hee-ho?"

**X-X**

Somehow, it was the work of magic. Naruto concluded as he was instantly lead back to the forests where the Hokage Monument was at. The only thing that was different was that he held a magical sword that acted like an Axe and a cat that seemed to fade through somehow.

"So this is Konoha, its sure looking a lot like Tsukigata village." the see through cat commented before perching on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto was surprised that the cat could feel just as heavy as a real live cat even though he was a ghost.

"I am in this form because there is little Mag energy in this village. No doubt because of this "chakra" dominance that is over this region. It will be a little tough, but you'll manage to be a decent fighter with time if we train here." Gouto paused as he looked in the immediate area for any demon signatures.

"Boy, you have to make sure that you practice everything I tell you with precision every day. You may go to this "Ninja Academy", but know that my teachings will make you more a ninja than any teacher there will teach you to. You will be sneaky, a professional ninja, like the days of old."

"We will rest for today. Your combat crash course today should fulfill your day's training. Rest up, for we have a full day tomorrow." Gouto said as he switched from shoulder to the top of the boy's head.

"Lead me to your home, boy. We will talk about your new path in life there." Gouto said from the top of Naruto's head.

"My name is Naruto, you alley cat! OW!" Naruto growled out as the cat scratched his head sharply.

"Don't call me ALLEY CAT!"

The hidden Anbu agent could only sweatdrop as the boy was somehow injuring himself in a cat fashion. It was almost as if he had an actual cat scratching him...

**Hey there, I'm back! I've been trying to get the roadblock that is Rockman Naruto Chapter five out of the way and I'm building a new road instead. I am pleased to say that this is the first "Devil Summoner and Naruto" crossover that I've seen posted lately. I am sure this will go far, as I have the game to reference to and the multitude of demon lore that I can track down easily for story ideas.**

**I hope to see many reviews for the story, as there has been scant reviews for any new story these days...I swear, the only reviews I see these days are for self-inserts and OC pairings with character stories.**

**Well, heres hoping that I get more reviews than that OcxNaruto/Sasuke/Akatsuki/whatever pairing over there in that corner of the list.**

**Stamp From The FUTURE (2/01/2012): Well, here is the revised version, let me know what you think of it.**

**Terra Ace**


	2. Meeting the Girl

Devil Summoner Naruto Chapter Two: Meeting The Girl

If there was one thing he dreaded about going to the academy, it was class time with this particular teacher...

It could only be described as mind numbingly boring, Naruto thought as he listened into yet another of his teacher's lessons on ninja history. The man was a bespectacled man who seemed to be just as bored as the students were during the lesson.

It wasn't like this though. Naruto remembered that he was so psyched when he saw the ninja academy for the first time five years ago. The first day didn't disappoint either, since they all got a tour of the academy's impressive facilities. It showed older academy students training in all forms of weapons like Kunai, and ranged weaponry such as bows and shuriken. Then they were told how they were going to be trained in both knowledge and weapons (a lot of the boys, and strangely one girl was sold on the notion of weapons alone at that point.), and how they were going to be respectable figures of society as their defenders. Nowadays he thought that it wasn't at all it was cracked up to be. Very few days were actually used on the training grounds that the academy owned and half that precious time was used on the history of the shinobi.

He was up for a little history, as Gouto-sensei, his cat swordplay teacher always reminded him that the lessons of the past will always open a window of victory for the future. However, seeing the dietary routine of the first Hokage told him that it belonged on a gossip vine than a history textbook.

As the teacher droned on, Naruto took the distraction to eye his classmates. It didn't take him long to recognize his peers as they were either snoring, out of their minds, or paying fierce attention to the lesson like it was a lifeline.

He could only remember a few names from the bunch, most of them clan heirs. If he didn't know any better, he would've sworn that they were something important to a story plot somehow like the characters of the "Jammin' Ninja!" manga he reads sometimes.

He looked at some of the cast of pea...heirs that were somewhat listening to the lesson.

The first one he spied on was the Inuzuka heir, Kiba. He wasn't the smartest kid in the world, but according to the locals, his family were unrivaled using dog/wolf like senses in combat. From what little he gleaned in his basic human anatomy lessons, Kiba's one weakness is his primary inheritance, the heightened hearing and sight that the Inuzuka was famous for. Give a certain frequency, and they are down for the count. Thankfully, there aren't many jutsu that uses sound for a base so the Inuzuka felt little resistance to regular combat.

Looking to his right from the snoring Inuzuka, Naruto spied the snoozing Shikamaru Nara. He was possibly the laziest student in the entire school but his strategies when fully focused could be something only legends could devise. However, the rate of such strategies occurring would be as likely a yellow stone containing a powerful electric shock.

He would've spied on others, but the bell rang signaling the end of class. As he strode outside, he spotted the two girls who stood very vividly in his memories.

Sakura Haruno was a girl that was very shy until she met her rival, Ino. They were best friends before they grew into the age where boys where cute and thoughts of marriage drifted into their heads. Their target? Sasuke Uchiha. It didn't help any other male's case that the boy had the cliché tragic past, the dark hair and the goal that could somehow be directed and cured by every girl that came into range and had a rosy view of their world.

Since that day, everything changed, and sometimes change didn't mean maturity.

Sakura changed drastically from her former shyness. She was now outgoing, had long hair and was competing to be Sasuke's no. 1 fan. It was widely believed that she joined the academy in an effort to be close to the Uchiha survivor. She must have believed that grades meant something to the boy because her efforts in books and written assignments went above and beyond the grading requirements, making her one of the brightest academy students on paper. Her efforts physically were another story.

Her studious efforts somehow overshadowed her bare minimum efforts in the physical portion of the academy criteria. It was somehow rumored that the Uchiha boy wanted a good wife that was both beautiful and well mannered. Acting on the rumor, the girls in the year older than the boy, and the girls in the same age and one year younger declined from the skills that the kunoichi standard recommended. The academy had shocking reports that the numbers of combat ready kunoichi lowered the year that Sasuke attended.

Ino Yamanaka was similar, but the Kunoichi standard build wasn't recommended for her as her strengths were better suited as a interrogation officer, as most of her clan is stationed in. She was the heir to the Yamanaka clan, a group of mind-walking individuals that steal data, possess bodies and can technically rule the world by taking over the right people.

Despite all that, Ino was a relatively able and healthy girl, a rarity in the female academy graduates. She was usually the first to finish the physical runs that the academy gives weekly. In fact, she was basically the mirror darkly of Sakura. She wasn't the smartest kunoichi (the first being Sakura) but she could outlast most of her peers in spar battles via stamina.

That isn't to say that she was the perfect kunoichi. She was still a contender in being the future mate to Sasuke Uchiha and her physique was nearly thin enough to be a defunct kunoichi that was ill and bed ridden. Naruto guessed that if the rumor for being a perfectly bodied wife for the great Uchiha survivor was a thin wafer waffle, then who was he to say otherwise? Maybe the tastes of the screwball Uchiha included wafer wives?

Naruto shook his head, who cared what the Uchiha wanted? He stopped his thought train...he had to realize just now that practically everyone who wanted the Uchiha clan restored cared, and those that put all their hopes and expectations for the boy to shell out enough offspring to revitalize the Uchiha Police force cared. The Uchiha, who once protected the city of Konoha before they were wiped out in one night by an assailant. He didn't know anyone who could have that kind of power, but it must have been someone unexpected that wiped them out.

He tried asking the Old Man, but he was silent as stone on the matter. He stopped asking when the Old Man didn't budge on the matter and life went on.

As he passed by the two girls bickering when he overheard something that nearly caused him to stumble.

"Yeah right! There is no such thing as ghosts!" Sakura said disbelieving, and in a tone that said what the hell was she doing with this pig. Ino looked like she was about to be ill, if what the tone of voice was going by. Ino was a gossip by heart though, and she loved talking about things that people didn't want anyone else to hear about.

"I wouldn't be talking to YOU, if it wasn't so juicy! I saw a ghost, it was of a cat!" At that point, both girls saw Naruto stumble but recover immediately. Both girls rolled their eyes and were just thinking 'Baka!'. To Naruto though, things more important than what two girls thought of him arose. Naruto had to find his teacher and tell him of this new development.

Neither Ino or Sakura didn't notice that Naruto left at a quicker pace than normal as they started another fight over their precious "Sasuke-Kun!"

Three years ago, Naruto Uzumaki was afraid of the hateful glares that the boy experienced when he went into the civilian market place. This forced the Old Man to change the living areas of the boy, since there was always the fear that some insane group of people will try something idiotic like getting a mob and attacking the boy's home or even attacking the boy believing he was the demon! Utter lunacy, but still possible.

Returning to his shabby looking apartment in his living area, Naruto opened the door to a rather modernized home. It came up to the Old Man that in order to hide Naruto from the jealousy that will surely come with the already hateful glares, he had to make it look on the outside a housing so unbelievably bad, it wouldn't even make a poor, destitute homeless person desire to live here.

Hence, the birth of the "poor housing" that Naruto lived in.

Naruto thought it could go without the smell, but who was he to ask? He had this building practically all to himself, and the few who tried to sneak in here for a quick room for anything, were escorted out by the random Anbu agent that was assigned to watch over him.

After putting away the things the academy needed for the day near a corner in the room, Naruto went into the kitchen and rummaged around for something to eat. There wasn't much choice since his fridge held only a half full carton of milk, and some cold ramen. Naruto wasn't one to waste food, let alone ramen, which he would never throw away, for any reason. After drinking from the carton of milk, he closed the door and turned to see Gouto staring at him, as if waiting for him.

"You really should check your expiration dates on your food. You just drank half spoiled milk." he said simply to the shocked boy, who opened the fridge door and checked the date. Naruto paled, that damn alley cat was right!

Gouto sighed at the inattentiveness of his apprentice and strode over to the panicking boy.

"Listen up, this provides a good lesson on checking your food for any poisons, or in this case, expiration dates. If you had a healing demon with you, that demon could cast _Posumudi_ on you to remove that poison out of your system. But since you don't even know how to talk to a demon without it scratching your eyes out, you'll have to ride it out." Naruto glared at the cat for making the situation so freaking clear. He could already feel his insides rumble with the rotten milk in protest. Groaning, Naruto made for his bathroom where he would spend most of the afternoon.

Later on in the evening, under the cover of night, Gouto began his lessons on Naruto's swordplay. The sword that Naruto used in combat several days prior was hanging on a shelf inside a closet that Naruto reserved for "Special" stuff.

He was currently trying to use a regular sword that Gouto somehow acquired for their nightly lessons. It wasn't too heavy for the child, but it sometimes unbalanced the kid during some of the more tougher chains of sword movements.

"Hm...you don't seem to have the balance to use a regular sword. I wonder if an Axe is what you excel at?" Gouto wondered to himself as he watched Naruto stumble for the eighth time on a sequence sword movement. Naruto declared that he would master the sword in no time and Gouto believed him, but maybe its the spirit of the Axe inside the sword that makes him so skillful in the combat zone.

Unfortunately, Gouto can only recover one type of spirit sword every month or so, since the preparation for the journey where he kept them takes nearly a month to plan, even if he knew where he put them. He was curious to what kinds of weapons that Naruto can wield with ease, and what weapons that Naruto would have the skill of a baby with a bomb for a toy.

"Alright Naruto, you can stop. I think I might know what your weakness in the routine is. In order to fix that, I'll have to retrieve an Axe for you to wield and see what you can do with that." Gouto said to a slightly disappointed Naruto, who thought he could use this sword just as well as that spirit sword he had locked up in his "Special" closet.

"I'll end the practice here and move on to my next lesson, which involves you talking to demons." Gouto said to a sullen Naruto, who still felt a small twinge of guilt for taking out those two demons.

"You must know that there are demons who would join your side for a variety of things. The most common exchange is your offering of blood or stamina to the creature among other things. Some take money, and some just need a good conversation to join your cause.

However, since the technology that the Yatagarasu used to store demons were lost during the great destruction, I've had to gather parts from natural resources in order to makeshift one of our storing devices. I am almost finished with reconstructing one, so you'll be able to test one out on the field soon." Gouto finished to an attentive Naruto, who got over his little bout of guilt.

"What happens if you try to talk to a demon without this device ready?" He asked, Gouto nodded. His charge may be a blockhead, but he knew what questions to ask sometimes.

"Usually they go away, disappointed in not being able to join you. There are some who take it the wrong way and go holy hell on you for insulting them. Usually a beat down of the demon is required for them to learn their place."

Gouto was about to continue when he felt a foreign presence hiding in the tree line area of Naruto's home. Naruto must have noticed it too, since he was also looking at the same direction he was.

"I know you're there, come out!" Gouto barked out his demand. Naruto held his sword at the ready for combat, should the need arise.

What came out made Gouto frown in confusion and Naruto go white as a sheet.

It was the Ghost girl!

The ghostly girl seemed to be nervous at being found out, but it looked like she was observing Naruto for quite a long time now, as she wasn't so much afraid of him than she was of Gouto.

"This is..." Gouto began, but Naruto cut him off.

"Its the ghost girl! I thought ghosts couldn't leave their haunting areas! I'm scared!" Naruto was running around in circles around the area, as if that could repel the giggling girl. Gouto sighed, blockhead indeed...

Gouto landed on Naruto's head with expert timing and stopped him by scratching the head of the boy, who hissed in pain again.

"Oww...that hurts!" Naruto complained as he tenderly touched the wound that the cat gave him. The girl, concerned for the pain that Naruto was going through began chanting something while touching the stiff Naruto who was stock still at a girl, ghost or real touched him so familiarly.

A few more chants and Naruto's wounds began to heal faster than he would regularly heal, and that was saying something. His wounds, mostly small bumps and bruises were almost immediately healed up before an hour has passed.

"Hm..just as I thought. She didn't have the right type, but shes definitely one of the Tenshi clan." Gouto said aloud. The ghostly girl laughed melodically and nodded, while Naruto was perplexed at this info. Who were the Tenshi clan? Was it one of the lower civilian clans or something?

"Whats a Tenshi Clan?" He voiced his question. Gouto looked at the girl before continuing.

"We have several demons categorized by element, alignment and what kind of Clan they belong in. For example, A Jatayu and Feng Huang are Clan brothers because they belong to the Reichou Clan. Those demons are mostly winged demons, resembling birds." Gouto paused before fishing up.

"Shes still relatively young, but she belongs to the Tenshi Clan. I had some inkling of what she was, but I believe in absolute certainty that she is an Angel." Naruto was stunned, hes actually seeing a real angel for the first time!

"Wow! You're an Angel?" He asked the smiling girl, who giggled and nodded happily. Gouto watched the scene a little more before speaking again.

"According to our lore, every person on the planet has one Angel that guides their actions and protects them from various evils. I think this may be your personal guardian Angel." Gouto paused and got an idea from it.

"You, Angel!" He waited until the girl was paying attention to him. Gouto smiled internally, this was perfect!

"How would you like to be Naruto's first demon partner?" He asked of the girl, who nodded and turned to face a startled Naruto. Gouto turned a moment later as well.

"Ok, Naruto, this plays right into our lesson plans. This Angel is already loyal to you, so it would be easier to convince her to join you than other demons. However, she isn't fully ready to fight at your side, and this is where our next lesson begins. The art of Negotiation."

"I've collected data from the 14th and for the most part, demons require some form of blood payment or would like money in exchange for a contract with the summoner. I'll hand you some money that I've acquired and you use that to convince this Angel to fight for you." Gouto threw by mouth to Naruto a small bag of coins as he finished his explanation.

"Begin!" Gouto ordered his disciple. Naruto nodded and faced the young Angel. When he made eye contact with her, however, time seemed to freeze. When he turned around, he saw that everything but him and the Angel stopped moving. A slight shuffling of the Angel told Naruto that he should pay attention to her and not the surroundings. Naruto blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head with one arm.

"Ah! Sorry about that, first time, hehe!" he laughed nervously. The Angel smiled in response and nodded. He never heard her speak so he was startled by the voice that came out of the girl.

"Hi! I heard from that cat that you want me to be your demon?" The Angel asked. Her voice quite melodious. Naruto figured since she was a demon, her voice would be more deep, like a regular demon.

"Y-yeah...sorry, I'm a bit nervous." Naruto admitted to the girl.

"You might want to stand a bit straighter, or else demons will find that offensive and attack you. I'm sure you don't want that, do you?" Angel asked the boy, who nodded at the advice.

"Ok...like this?" Naruto straightened his back. Angel shook his head.

"Its too stiff, makes you look fake. There are some demons like Okuninushi who like that kind of thing, but mostly a straighter back means respect to most demons." The Angel lectured as she pushed Naruto's back into a more manly pose. A far outcry from the slouch that Naruto was so accustomed to.

"Ok! Now this is a respectable pose! Lets continue." The Angel clapped her hands at her soon to be master's new pose.

"Now, here comes the more critical part, the terms of servitude." The Angel said as she stood in a thinking pose, her hand cupping her tiny chin. Naruto thought she looked cute, like a chibi trying to do a serious thinking pose.

"I want some of your blood, to satisfy my bloodlust." The Angel asked of Naruto, who was shocked and pale. Was this Angel a vampire in disguise?

"What? Aren't angels like holy beings? They don't like drinking blood, do they?" Naruto asked of the giggling girl.

"We may be angels, but every demon you ask an alliance with will ask for a bit of blood of their potential summoner. Fortunately for you, I only require a tiny bit of blood in order to satisfy my bloodlust for a lifetime." Angel explained to an understanding Naruto.

"How much blood do you need?" He asked of the girl. Angel smiled, her master wasn't foolhardy and gave up his energy foolishly. He was new, but he had survival instincts that would've rivaled Master Uriel.

"Just cut your palm open and drop a few drops of blood on my hands." Angel told the boy as she cupped her hands in front of the boy. Naruto nodded and took out his sword. He cut his palm and shook a tiny amount of blood onto her cupped hands. Naruto was surprised that his hand had healed quickly after the cut and didn't notice the Angel drink his blood almost messily. When he turned back to the Angel, he could see no trace of his blood anywhere on the girl. It was almost as if was licked clean.

Naruto mentally shrugged, it was probably a demon thing.

The Angel smiled once again in satisfaction, it seemed that he fulfilled her requirements, but...

"Oh yes...I have one other request." The Angel said of Naruto. Naruto could almost guess what it was and was fingering the pouch of coins carefully.

"What is it?" The Angel started looking around and twiddling her fingers almost cutely.

"I kinda have a sweet tooth, but there isn't many people who would give up money for such a thing...so can I have that pouch of money?" She smiled almost childlike and comically. Naruto sighed, he was right on the money...literally.

He tossed the small pouch of money as the Angel cheered at the acquiescence of her request and almost hugged the pouch at her plans to buy all the candy she could.

"Ok! I think that's enough, I'm ready to go with you!" She smiled and pulled out a rectangular piece of paper to hand to a confused Naruto.

"Here's my business card! I feel like such a grown up!" The Angel laughed as Naruto looked for a place to store his new business card. He found it odd, but its a demon thing, he reminded himself.

"Hm...good job Naruto. You have successfully recruited this Angel. Now, her hazy figure will fade away, allowing you to see her unique form." Gouto commented as what he said came to be.

The Angel started to solidify her ghostly form and both Naruto and Gouto were surprised to see the girl's form.

Where there would usually be a blue haired or blond haired angel, this one had fiery red hair and her eyes were aquatic blue. She had a confident face and her posture seemed like she would bolt at any second from a prank or two that she caused. Her wings were still the same length though. She was certainly unique, Gouto thought to himself.

"Do you have a name, Angel-Chan?" Naruto asked of the girl, who pondered.

"I might have had one when I was alive, but since we are all mass assigned to guard people, some angels forget their previous identities. I still remember some of it though. It was something like...Kushi...something or other." Naruto instinctively called out a name from somewhere in the recesses of his mind. It might've been a lost memory.

"Kushina?" He asked, and the Angel seemed to think on it before nodding.

"Yeah...I think that was my name, Kushina!" The Angel turned to Naruto and stuck out her hand to shake his.

"My name is Kushina, and I'm your partner!" She grinned in a way that made Gouto's eyes widen.

_'There is no way...could she really be..?'_

Naruto didn't seem to see the similarities and shook her hand enthusiastically.

"My names Naruto Uzumaki, do you like ramen?" He asked Kushina, who nodded very happily.

"I love ramen! How did you know?" She exclaimed to a grinning Naruto.

"I think we'll get along just fine! I know a great place, come on!" He said as he pulled Kushina's hand to his favorite place in the world, Ichiraku's Ramen.

"Hold it, Naruto." Gouto called out. Naruto and Kushina turned to the cat in confusion.

"While you can see her Naruto, other people can't. Those who are spiritually sensitive like you are can see them fully, but normal people cannot. Don't you think it will get awkward if you order two bowls of Ramen for someone who isn't there?" Gouto pointed out and Kushina nodded in agreement.

Naruto however grinned.

"You haven't seen me eat ramen, have you?" Naruto chuckled and Gouto got the feeling that he was going to see something that will haunt his dreams forever...

While the trio were witnessing Naruto's "talent", something sinister was happening elsewhere.

A girl was running away in fear of something that wasn't there. She came across the slain bodies of her parents and a low growl told her that the thing spotted her. She turned over trash cans and went through the deserted roads of nighttime Konoha in order to evade whatever was chasing her.

Her luck ended however, as she was cornered by a dead end in Konoha's shopping district.

Looking in fear, she screamed as a green humanoid monster stalked slowly to her. The monster growled hungrily, splotches of blood were on his mouth and the girl stared horrified that her parent's blood was on this freak.

She screamed loudly as the monster pounced on her and her screams of terror slowly faded as the monster ended her life.

Her body wasn't found till the next morning by a horrified shopkeeper, who found her remains and her face in absolute terror.

**Hows this for a chapter end? I think it will build up for Naruto's first case of sorts.**

**What do you guys think of the ghost girl? Were any of you expecting that?**

**Until the next chapter!**

**Terra Ace.**

**The Stamp of the FUTURE: (3/10/12): Well, here is the revised edition, nothing major, just grammar issues.**


	3. Case of The Slain Academy Student pt1

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 3

The Case of The Slain Academy Student (part 1)

_'Did you hear?'_

_'I did!'_

_'How horrible!'_

These were the chatters that filled the student hallways when Naruto entered the academy a couple of days after meeting Kushina, his Angel demon partner. She was fine with the fact that there wasn't a device to store her ready yet and spent her time flying around the village. She would always take a trip to the grocery store to satisfy her very sweet addiction to candy.

Naruto was hearing snippets of the chatter and wondered what was going on. To rile up the school like this...it was big at least.

As Naruto entered his classroom, he was waved at by Ino. Why would she talk to him, he didn't know. She probably wanted to gossip what was going on.

"Hey Naruto, listen to this!" Ino began. Naruto's intuition was right in one again. She just wanted to spread the news.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, he was curious about the chatter too. Ino looked around and whispered in his ear.

"Yumiko's dead! They found her body yesterday!" Ino gushed out the news, and Naruto was shocked at the news, one of their classmates was dead?

Yumiko Agabashi was a student in Naruto's year and wasn't one to stand out, preferring to blend into the crowd. She was in the middle range in their tests, but the sudden news of her death stunned many of those who knew her and didn't, so the rumors flew.

Before Naruto could ask Ino on what else happened to their classmate, their teacher entered the classroom.

"Ok, settle down now! We have a lesson to begin." The teacher said to the rowdy students. While some quieted immediately, there were still a few students chattering about the rumors.

"I said settle down! We are all shocked about the news of Yumiko, but we must move on. let's begin where we left off, Sandaime's rise to the seat of Hokage..." Naruto tuned out the lesson and tried to get some more info on the truth of the rumor. His only option was Ino, who sat in the row in front of him.

Naruto took out some paper and scribbled down a note before tossing it to the girl. It landed with a plop on the girls head before landing on her lap. Ino looked around ticked off, but read the note from Naruto. She glared a bit for ruining her attention to the history lesson, but scribbled back a reply and tossed it to a waiting Naruto.

_I'll tell you after school, meet me behind the main building. - Ino_

Naruto nodded to an unseeing Ino, who turned back to the lesson. He'll just have to be patient and learn the news from her later.

**X-X**

While Naruto was at school, Gouto and Kushina were examining the body of the slain girl in the Konoha Hospital.

Kushina brought the matter to Gouto as she overheard some gossiping housewives while walking through the shopping district. Her ears burned hot at the news and she flew back, naturally invisible to humans. All the way to Gouto, the cat in Naruto's home.

Since they are naturally invisible to the human eye, they had no trouble slipping past the security and looking for the girl. They were in luck that the corpse was still in the operating table, in the middle of an autopsy from what the pair saw. They waited until the staff left for a break in order to investigate the body...at least what was left of it.

The horror frozen face was relaxed into a sleeping face in order to stop the unnerving of the doctors performing the procedure, but the damage from her mysterious death was still there, but covered by a blue sheet. The doctors were in the middle of the autopsy and left a portion of the sheet open to show the wounds of the girl.

The girl had gaping wounds all over the abdomen area as if being stabbed repeatedly through the stomach. The area around the throat was ripped off and what looked like chewed on by a fang or so. Some of her organs were missing as well. Her heart, her stomach and her pancreas were all missing, as if she was being picked apart for certain organs.

Gouto stared at the sight and tried to remember what could have caused this. It could be a wild animal, but he doubted that the ninja on patrol would allow such a wild thing on the loose. So the only things that come to mind is an insane person committing cannibalism, or...

"It looks to be the work of a demon. It could be a member from the Yuuki Clan." Gouto explained his reasoning. Kushina looked at the body, feeling sorry for the last moments that the girl must have experienced, it was a slow death, to be sure.

"let's go, we have to return to the house in order to meet Naruto in time for his lessons." Gouto explained as he hopped into an open window. Kushina nodded and left through the doorway, since she was too big to fit through the window.

After Naruto met up with Ino to learn more from the rumor, he was reviewing what she told him.

Apparently, they found the girl lying in her own pool of blood, but the ninja assigned to the hospital sector in recovering dead people mentioned that there was less blood than usual for a girl her age. It almost seemed that the girl's blood was being drained.

When they tried to locate the parents, the ninja were further shocked to find that the parents also suffered the same fate. To the investigating ninja, this is a gruesome murder.

As he rounded the corner to his house, and entered the disguised home, he turned to face Gouto and Kushina.

He felt that to Gouto, it was just as simple as a mystery to solve.

"Naruto, it looks like we have something happening in the village today." Gouto began, but Naruto nodded that he knew.

"Yeah, I heard. It was a murder of a girl, isn't it?" Gouto nodded.

"Correct. This is a little early for you, but this is a rare opportunity for your training as a devil summoner." Gouto nodded to Kushina, who held a folder with some papers in it.

"When I was overseeing the 14th, he used to work as a detective protecting his region from the supernatural phenomena that seeps out into the real world."

"The real world?" Naruto asked.

"When I was alive, there was a separate world exclusively for demons. It was a dark mirror of the region in which they inhabited. If there was a town there, you can guarantee that there was a dark mirror of the town inhabited by demons."

"I don't know what happened to the girl, but I do know this. This was the work of a demon, and the victim somehow entered the dark world of Konoha." Gouto revealed his findings to his shocked student.

"Whoa...so what is my part in all this?" Naruto asked. Gouto stared at the boy, he may or may not take this well.

"Since I'm training you to be the newest devil summoner, I want you to spend time in this dark world and find out what caused this girl's death. Kushina will be there to help in combat matters, but mostly she will be there where I cannot. I'll be with you until you find the rip of space where the dark world demons are coming from. After that, I won't be able to help you. As a spirit, the dark energy prevents me from entering. If I was alive in a body, I can enter with you, but since that isn't so...you get the idea." Naruto nodded.

"When do we get started?" He asked his teacher. Gouto looked up at the sky, it was getting a bit late to start immediately.

"We will start tomorrow after your studies. Come here immediately and we'll set out to find this rip in space. We can't let another victim enter this rip and get themselves killed." With the plan in motion, all three members decided on what to eat. Naruto suggested ramen but Gouto shot down that idea, he didn't want more nightmares anytime soon after the other day's...demonstration. Both Naruto and Kushina looked crestfallen, since both loved the stuff.

The next morning Naruto arrived at school with the plan fresh in his mind, but the question was where the rip was located? He doubted that any of the rumor mills knew about a rip in the fabric of space, so that was out. Naruto thought back to where the girl and her parent's bodies were found. He could always check the area, but he doubted that the investigating ninja would let him through to the scene of the crime.

He thought of one other source, but it was such a long shot...still, he could see no other option.

It was time to get some info from the school gossip.

**X-X**

If you ask Ino how her day was spent, you would never believe that the school loser would demand any and all rumors of what happened to Yumiko. But it happened, and her nose for more rumors peaked at the sudden curiosity about all the questions. Especially from Naruto of all people.

After telling all the rumors to the dead last, she had a nagging reminder to follow Naruto after school. This was too good a rumor to pass up and not spread! By this time tomorrow, the whole school will know of Naruto's dealings!

As soon as the school's lessons ended with the bell, Ino had to painstakingly stop herself from following Sasuke-kun and force herself to follow Naruto at a distance, who seemed to be snooping around the shopping area. If following Sasuke-kun taught her anything, it was to be patient as Sasuke would stop sometimes abruptly on his way home.

"Hm..." Naruto sighed at another dead end, he could only move on to another of Ino's rumors and move on.

Ino did various things while appearing incognito to a snooping Naruto like visiting the shops and hiding behind stalls whenever Naruto would turn back to look behind him. Ino guessed that he might know that someone was following him, but wasn't sure of it. Ino's previous lessons with her father in espionage tactics that he used during his missions made her deducting skills a little sharper than most ninja, but it was rough at best.

After seeing Naruto turn a corner and into a dead end, Ino waited a few minutes before following him. What she saw was a little startling.

She saw a cat.

And it was talking to Naruto...

A talking cat was speaking to the dead last and he wasn't freaked out about it!

This was rumor gold!

Hiding away in a nearby stack of discarded wooden barrels, she listened in to the conversation that the cat and the dead last was having.

"It seems that you found the rip, Naruto. How did you find out about it?"

"A girl at school is a major gossip and she told me about the normal routines that the victim follows." Naruto replied. Ino raised her eyebrow, the Naruto she knew wouldn't be using such words like routine or victim. Instead, she was sure he would use simple words like the low brow male persona he always showed off in front of his classmates.

Maybe the rumors on his stupidity were a little exaggerated?

"Well, from here on out, you are on your own. I trust you know the plan right? You don't need a reminder do you?" The cat asked of Naruto, who shook his head.

"Alright, I'll meet you back at the house as soon as you come back from your investigation. Don't get killed out there, this realm is very different from what you are used to." The cat ordered and watched as Naruto stopped before the wooden fence and Ino was watching intently. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her, as Naruto suddenly vanished!

After looking from her hiding spot for anyone watching (she found none), she searched the dead end thoroughly for the dead last. That was a neat jutsu that he performed, and she couldn't wait until she got it out of him. As she neared the place where Naruto vanished, her hand suddenly went through the seemingly solid wooden fence!

"Whoa!" Ino gasped as she pulled her hand out of the rippling wooden fence. It was surreal! After a moment, Ino's mind was racing at the new info on Yumiko's death. She knew something that the investigating ninja didn't, and it would make quite the story!

First however, she had to find out where this rippling thing led to. This was a discovery that only she and Naruto knew, and it was sure to make her more popular at school.

She hesitated for a moment before walking through the rippling fence, unknowing that the cat was staring from behind her. He stood still for a moment before walking away from the fence, wondering if that girl would survive her little run in the dark world...

The dark world of Konoha felt like normal Konoha, only draped in darkness and some of the buildings were a little aged and in disrepair. Walking with Kushina at his side, Naruto held the special sword that he used at his waist, where he tied the scabbard to a hoop in his pants.

Gouto suggested to wear darker clothing when going into this realm in order to not stand out and be attacked by some of the more confident demons. Naruto had to ditch his orange attire and don a darker gray shirt and black pants. A long black, open cloak was on his shoulders, making for a rather far cry from his usual bright clothing.

He was walking silently in the open, as Naruto was told by Gouto that it didn't matter if he moved next to the walls or in the open as demons will always attack. Naruto was trained in basic combat and it held in his best interests to be attacked in the open for a better movement range than being cornered somewhere.

For the most part, eerily watchful eyes watched Naruto crossing into their realm, but kept at bay. Naruto noticed the presence, but kept walking. He had no reason to actively hunt the demons yet, let them come to him.

Ino landed on the other side of the wooden fence in a world that was totally too dark for her. Her purple attire that was so suited for the bright side of Konoha was too bright for this dankly place. On top of that, Ino couldn't find Naruto anywhere. Seeing no choice available to her, she moved forward, and into a town that seemed to be the dark sided belly of Konoha...

**X-X**

A few hours into his investigation, Naruto saw a group of demons talking in the open. They were chattering in a language that he didn't understand, so he asked Kushina to translate what were they saying. Kushina listened into the conversation and started translating for her contractor.

"They are saying that the boss demon got a hold of a human girl who wandered in here a few hours ago. It looks like it hasn't been the first time this boss demon did this to a human." She told Naruto, who's eyes widened at another kidnapping.

"Could he be the one that killed that girl?" He asked his partner. She pondered the question for a moment before nodding slowly.

"I think he might, but we can't be certain until we meet this boss demon face to face." Kushina looked around her surroundings, as it got a little quieter as they were talking. No doubt that the denizens were watching them carefully.

A sudden rustle in the bushes to their right alerted them to somebody approaching their position. Kushina started chanting in low tones as her hands started to glow with green energy. Naruto held his sword with two hands, no doubt ready to dish out Axe type damage to whatever was approaching them.

What they didn't expect was a human girl to stumble out of the bushes. This girl had long Blonde hair with twigs in it and her clothes looked rumpled. Almost as if she was running away and dashed through the bushes desperately. Her widened eyes told her that she found what she was looking for and didn't notice Kushina as she tackled him with surprising force.

"Oh my god! I finally found you! Save me, Naruto, these monsters are chasing me!" Ino was panicked as she kept rambling random facts to a confused Naruto. By normal standards, anyone would go onto a five minute shock-fest at another being finding out his lifelong secret activities followed by a so easy battle that he would then be forced into sharing said secret.

Naruto didn't know jack about this world, he was just an apprentice left in a forest of wolves. He didn't mind sharing this world, since it wasn't his to begin with. He wasn't so experienced that any demons encountered would be completely owned by his skills. What did happen correctly though, was there was a set of demons in front of him. They were possibly shocked that another being like the girl was here, but they quickly got into their battle stances, ready to kill them both.

Naruto eyed his opponents. They were small demons, and they seemed to work on the fact that strength equals numbers. He recognized one of the demons, from his bowl cut hair covering his eyes as an Obariyon.

"What? Another fool to knock around?" The Obariyon said. His posture said that he was the leader of the pack. The other demons of the pack, just two others, were staring menacingly. Like good little thugs, Naruto was reminded very much of from the Jammin' Ninja manga. The thugs there acted a lot like the demons here.

"I don't know what you want with her, but get the hell out of here!" Naruto shouted out at the group. The thug demons looked ready to follow that order, but the Obariyon didn't seem to be affected.

"Don't think you can order me around, human! Attack!" The Obariyon shouted and the demons immediately responded by lunging toward Naruto. Naruto couldn't see the forms fully because of the dark shadows, but now in the open, he could see the thugs clearly.

A green blob that Naruto recognized as a Slime. He remembered the shape because he was chased by one when he first met Gouto. Another was a flesh ridden skeleton warrior known only as a Turdak. From what Gouto told him, Turdak often travel alone. At most, only a pair of Turdaks were seen traveling together since most Turdak groups tend to fight each other to the death.

Add that with the Obariyon, and they were facing a three to two fight.

The Turdak let out a roar and charged toward a ready Naruto, who held his blade in a guarding stance. The Turdak's double swords clashed with Naruto's own sword and a fierce struggle happened between the combatants. All the while, the Turdak was slowly becoming enraged at a mere human could have matched his skills in the sword.

While the struggle was happening, Ino was watching the fight with awe. Naruto never showed skill in the Academy like this before. He would always suck when throwing his kunai set and would always struggle in basic skills. Seeing him like this was like a spirit was possessing his body or something.

She didn't notice the blob sneak up behind her until it let out a squelching sound. When Ino turned, all she could see was a fading wind-based jutsu image and a winged woman flying off to where Naruto was. She tried to warn Naruto, but she saw the woman fighting alongside against that fighting skeleton. They seemed to be working well together as the woman's green energy was repeatedly being thrown at the skeleton. Each orb of energy that hit near the skeleton was instantly transformed into a mini funnel of wind, kind of a like a Fuuton jutsu.

Naruto grunted, it was time to end this! Gripping his sword in his familiar Axe fashion, he commanded Kushina to distract Turdak while he got into his beginning stance like how Gouto taught him.

Spreading his legs vertically, he swung upwards toward the side of Turdak and launched him up into the air. All the while, blood from the wound was spilling into the ground below and he had to wonder where the blood was being stored. After a few seconds, he jumped into air aided by some the chakra he started tap into. When he reached about the same height in the air as Turdak, he threw his sword up into the air above and Naruto put his hands into a jutsu seal.

From below, Ino frowned. That seal wasn't part of any set of seals that the academy taught them and to her, Naruto wasn't exactly aware of the set he was doing.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" Ino's eyes widened, that was NOT the seal set for Bunshin, not by a long shot!

However, eight copies of Naruto appeared surrounding that skeleton. What she saw was only what she could describe as work of bloody art.

The original Naruto gripped his sword and the copies pulled out their own copies of the sword. After Naruto said something she couldn't quite hear, Naruto dropped down. He brought his sword down on the skull in a way a barbarian using an Axe would do. She saw the copies swing through the body of the skeleton as bunshin weren't supposed to do any damage.

She was proven wrong as the nine fine slash marks appeared on the shocked skeleton. His primal roar of pain faded as he just fell apart in a spray of blood, bones and fading copies of Naruto. When the original Naruto landed skillfully on the floor, Ino thought he looked like a seasoned ninja than a dead last at the academy.

The leader of the group, now turned solo act, Obariyon was cowed. Right in front of his eyes were the result of his men slaughtered by those meddling fools! He thought he could score some brownie points by kidnapping a second girl, but that plan went out the window!

It was time to make a quick retreat!

"Grr...you may have defeated me, but this was just a fancy of mines! My jobs' done anyways, keep that Blonde wafer!" Obariyon taunted before running into the shadows of Dark Konoha. Ino growled, she wasn't a wafer!

Naruto sighed before returning his sword to his scabbard. He almost thought that Ino was the kidnapped girl but it looked like there was one other girl in this world that wasn't supposed to be here.

"Are you alright?" He asked of a still fuming Ino, who was still ticked off about the wafer comment. After discarding her anger, she nodded to Naruto.

Then the questions and comments came.

"Are you an Anbu agent Naruto?","Where did you learn all those cool moves?", "You almost looked as cool as Sasuke-Kun!"

A gasp from Ino.

"Did Sasuke-Kun teach you that?" Ino tried to connect Naruto's fighting ability to something that Sasuke would do, but it didn't fit somehow.

Naruto glared at the mention of Sasuke. Did everything have to happen through Sasuke? Its like saying that the meaning of life is inside Sasuke's butt!

Naruto shuddered at the mental image...he would need a lot of ramen to forget that!

"No, I'm pretty sure that the _great "_Sasuke-Kun" doesn't know how to this. I'm just an academy student, and that is top secret." Naruto tried to answer what questions Ino spewed out, but it didn't seem to satisfy Ino's curiosity.

"Where are we then?" Ino asked a question that Naruto could answer easily.

"We are in Dark Konoha Village. This is a village meant for the demons of this world." Ino nodded confusedly. Even if she did tell about what happened to her, its a little tall to prove and she was sure that other children wouldn't be as lucky to have Naruto engage the demons every time if they came into this world on their own.

"Demons? Demons don't exist...at least I thought that was the case until today." Ino asked and answered herself.

Naruto nodded and looked toward Kushina, who nodded and flew into the sky.

"Who's that Naruto? Shes very pretty." Ino commented on Kushina's beauty.

"That's Kushina, shes my demon partner." Naruto told a shocked Ino. That girl was a demon like those freaks?

"She's a demon too? She looks so human!"

Naruto had a feeling that the few people who can see Kushina will say the same thing over and over...

"Shes a demon, but shes also my partner. We are working together to find out what killed Yumiko." Naruto replied to Ino's comment, who looked a little ashamed at her thoughtless comment.

"What kind of demon is she? Do you think one of these demons killed Yumiko?" Ino asked as she saw the girl, Kushina return from flying around the dark world.

"Shes an Angel from the Tenshi Clan. We think a demon might have gotten out of this world or that Yumiko might have entered this world and has gotten killed." Naruto answered Ino as Kushina whispered something in a language that Ino couldn't understand.

"Wow, you can understand that, Naruto?" Ino asked, amazed that the dead last can understand such a complicated language. Naruto, for his part, looked confused.

"What are you talking about? She speaks our language-" Naruto was interrupted by Kushina talking in her language.

"Oh, I see...it looks like she can only speak to people like me." Naruto answered to Ino's confusion, people like him? Was he an alien or something?

"People like you? Are you a demon or something too?" Ino asked.

"No, I'm a Devil Summoner" Naruto stated proudly.

An awkward silence went between them...

"What the heck is a Devil Summoner?" Ino asked after a while.

Naruto didn't have an answer to that, since he didn't know it fully either.

Just what was a Devil Summoner?

"I dunno...its all new to me too." Naruto replied. Ino felt that he didn't know either and accepted the answer with a nod.

"So what are you going to do now? I don't think I can lead you back to the other side. We are too far in and we could get attacked at anytime."

Ino smiled. She may be a gossip, but she was also very adventurous. It was getting stale in the Academy and rumor spreading can only go so far, after all.

"I might as well hang out with you, this world is very interesting. Besides, I'm sure without me, that Angel is sure to take advantage of you." She said slyly. Naruto and Kushina both looked confused and docked their head to the side at the same time, not getting the innuendo at all.

Ino sighed, guess it was true. Girls do mature faster than boys, she just assumed that Angels were the same.

"Never mind, let's just go." Ino ordered and started walking deeper into the murky city. Naruto could only shake his head as he followed her. She might not have noticed, but she was very bossy.

Walking behind Naruto was a giggling Kushina, she liked this girl.

**X-X**

It was nighttime in Konoha when a tired Hokage finally finished his paperwork for the day. He couldn't wait to head back home and enjoy a good cup of sake and a good book by a roaring fire.

Gathering up his pipe and coat, he walked toward the double doors of his office when the doors were busted open by a panicking Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Hokage-sama!" Inoichi yelled at the old leader rather chibi-like. Like a child to his grandfather. Sarutobi frowned, he could handle this from Naruto, but a grown man?

Picking a sobbing mess that used to be Inoichi, he could smell the alcohol in his breath. It looked like he was drunk before stumbling in here like this.

"Inoichi, calm yourself! Do you want your wife seeing like this? Again?" The aged Hokage threatened, sort of. It worked remarkably well as Inoichi froze and almost instantly sobered up with chakra to his brain. Useful thing, chakra. From wounds to hangover cures, was there no thing it couldn't stop?

Sarutobi paused, oh yeah...death.

"Now, what happened here?" Sarutobi ushered the moaning Inoichi to a chair in his office and sat him down.

"My daughter Ino...she's missing!" Inoichi said, working up into a panic. Sarutobi sighed at the man's personality. He was a decent ninja, but he hasn't seen action in a long time. Could working at a flower shop turn such a hardened veteran of the ninja corps into a drunken, sobbing mess?

He has to assign some B-ranked missions to Inoichi sometime soon, or else it would be a repeat of what happened here tonight. He thought about his other two teammates, but he wouldn't want to waste missions on seemingly normal clan heads and imposing on their duties to the clans they lead.

"Ok, let's calm down Inoichi. Perhaps she is at a friend's house? I recall that Miss Yamanaka is a very popular girl at the Academy, isn't she?" Sarutobi was concerned for the girl, but he wasn't convinced to send out Anbu squads for a girl that might be at a friend's house.

"But she tells her mother or me when she goes to sleepover at a friend's house! She didn't and I checked all of her friends that she slept over with!"

Now Sarutobi was on heightened alert. This might be a possible kidnapping, but no Anbu patrols reported anything suspicious.

"Let me see what I can do...let me talk to the Anbu and find out where she was last." Sarutobi told the panicking father.

"H-hokage-sama, I was told by her friends that she was last seen following Naruto in the shopping district." Now that peaked the Hokage's interest. That would make his job easier if Naruto was involved. Getting down his spying orb from the bookcase, he activated the chakra on the orb and watch it try and locate Naruto.

Inoichi narrowed his eyes from the glow, but he soon found himself staring at the odd artifact that the Hokage had stashed in his office. If he was single with that orb...Inoichi had a red hue on his face and Sarutobi hoped that was alcohol induced...

After a few moments he got an image and it wasn't one he hoped it would be. The piece of clothing that Naruto's seal was on wasn't being worn and his plan to locate the Blonde duo that way went down the tube.

"I'm sorry Inoichi, but Naruto isn't there either. It looks like they are both missing from Konoha." Sarutobi declared while getting in touch with the hidden Anbu agent that guarded him constantly. After speaking orders to a nodding Anbu, Sarutobi turned back to see Inoichi absorbed into the shiny piece of glass. He seemed to be getting angry too...

"Inoichi...?" Sarutobi asked cautiously. An angry father was one thing, a sobbing mess of a drunken father turned angry was another thing.

"I-I saw my daughter's skirt in that image where his jacket was! He is trying to deflower my little flower! Naruto Uzumaki must die!" The pumped up father turned berserker slammed open the Hokage's doors and stomped out into the hallway before coming back and bowing to his leader.

"My apologies Hokage-sama, I have to murder a little boy now for taking away my daughter's innocence."

Fearful for his knucklehead grandson, the aging Hokage followed Inoichi. It was easy to catch up to the man as he didn't use any ninja skills, but instead stomped toward where he believed Naruto lived. All Sarutobi could do was lead the angry Inoichi away from where Naruto lived by distracting him with other things, but all he could do was delay the inevitable. He seriously hoped that Naruto wasn't doing what Ino's father believed he was doing, or he was ground paste when Inoichi finally got a hold of him...

**X-X**

Gouto was confused where a purple bedsheet came from all of a sudden. It was if the wind picked up a hanging bedsheet and guided it toward an open window that Naruto left open before he went on his investigation. Giving it no thought, he kept staring at the moon, distracting himself in his memories of his previous adventures.

**X-X**

It seemed that time is read differently in the Dark Realm than Naruto once thought as he looked toward the dark town's clocktower. The hands looked like it read 5 in the afternoon, but instead of numbers, the large hands pointed to little bars and pictures of moon phases replaced the numbers.

"That clock is a little strange..." Naruto muttered as he held back a yawn. His body must be out of whack if it was tired at 5 in the afternoon...Ino must have been tired as she was complaining of a place to sleep. thinking that their bodies still remembered routines in the other world, Naruto could only guess that it was night time outside in the real world.

The one good thing about being in the dark world was that the denizens of the dark world do get tired and sleep in safe areas like empty shops and buildings. Naruto began looking for a abandoned shop to sleep in when Ino pointed out that this was the street where her home was on.

Walking ahead, Ino fumbled for a key in her pocket before opening the door to her home. Naruto heard her shout "I'm home!" before he entered and locked her house's door. No need for any snooping demon to enter and have their life shortened by his blade, after all. Of all the buildings in the Dark Konoha street, this was untouched in anyway. It even looked clean on the floor around the door, as if someone swept the floor daily around here!

"Is there anywhere I can sleep, Ino?" He asked a little tired from his full day of exploring the mirror town. Ino looked a bit uncomfortable before speaking what was on her mind.

"Well...I don't like being alone anywhere in this world. These demons might get us while we are separated so...I'm thinking of sharing our parents bed for tonight." Ino said with a light blush on her face. Naruto was completely red faced and Kushina was laughing at her contractor's situation.

After a bit of bickering between Naruto and the Blonde girl, Kushina watched amused as Ino dragged Naruto toward what she believed was her parent's room. Kushina grinned widely, she really liked this girl!

**X-X**

After directing Inoichi into sleeping off his drunken state and handing him off to his wife (who he could hear a loud screeching about him getting drunk) a haggard looking Hokage traveled back to his home. He would have to wait fifteen hours before he could mobilize any squad to look for the pair of Blondes.

As he made it into his home, he had to wonder how were they doing. Were they safe? Were they good on food? He could only wait and see what would happen. He only hoped that they were somewhere in this village and were just blowing off steam from something...

As Naruto and Ino shared a bed with Kushina in Ino's room, they slept rather undisturbed as not a single demon interrupted or broke into the housing that the pair slept in for the night. Coincidentally, Inoichi couldn't sleep very well, as he felt something on top of him. He woke up several times, but he could only feel the blanket on top of his form. He could only chalk it up to his worrying about his missing daughter, so he slept fitfully and woke up with a harsher than usual hangover.

His wife didn't do anything to help him...

**This is part one of Naruto's first case as a fledgling devil summoner. I always seen that Devil summoners use real time experience than study and train at a temple somewhere. There was that summoner hall, but I'm sure it was used as a test of ascension and not as heavily.**

**I may be wrong, but meh.**

**I'll post up part two sometime soon, I'm a little undecided on the ending of this case, but I'll decide soon enough.**

**Later!**

**Terra Ace**

**The Stamp of Future's Past!: 3/10/12: And here is a refurbished chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**


	4. Case of The Slain Academy Student pt2

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 4

Case of the Slain Academy Student – Part Two

A ray of dimmed light somehow hit Naruto's face the next morning as he found himself in a rather compromising position. Somehow during their forced sharing of her parent's bed, Ino crawled onto Naruto and used his torso and arms for a pillow and Naruto's arm wrapped around Ino's lithe body and around her waist. They seemed to be rather comfortable if by their nonstop sleeping through the night was any indication.

Naruto had a light rosy hue on his face as he assessed his situation. Ino wasn't unattractive by any means, but he was sure of the law of P.M.G.P (Parents Making Ground Paste of him). Careful to remove himself from the tangle, he ignored Ino's murmurs of discontent at his attempts at removal.

After getting away from her sleeping form (she still moaned a bit from the lost heat), Naruto went to the empty closet in the room to find his gear set up neatly inside. He doubted there was any running water or stored food inside the dark world version of Ino's home, so he put on his gear and headed outside of the bedroom as silently as he could.

Outside of the room, he saw Kushina awake and alert as she walked around the house, obviously exploring the place. Her eyes seemed to drink in more of the house than what was normal. Probably because she never visited someone else's home before.

"Hey Kushina?" Naruto called out softly. Kushina turned, curious at the question.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" She asked, wondering what was up. His tone of voice suggested that he didn't want to wake up the girl. She hoped they would wake up together, that would've been a funny scene!

"Why did Ino say that she couldn't understand you? I mean, we are talking like normal people right now, right?" Naruto asked, and Kushina pondered the answer.

"The best thing to tell you that would explain it is that we are somehow able to understand each other cause of the contract. I speak in your language so that you could understand me, and your words come out to the language of the Tenshi Clan." She answered after a moment.

"Is the magic of the contract that powerful?' Naruto asked, pulling out the business card that Kushina gave him when they met. Kushina smiled, she liked the memory too. It seemed to be deeper than that, but the meeting and contract was just a normal contract. The teachings of the Tenshi Clan was very thorough on the subject throughout history. Many of the Tenshi tried to find a deeper meaning, but none have succeeded to prove anything.

"It could be. I wouldn't put too much thought into it, though. The Tenshi have tried and failed to find any deeper meaning." Kushina replied and turned away from Naruto, eager to explore the house more.

Naruto guessed that out of all the houses Kushina visited while invisible, she could never truly visit this house. For what reason, he didn't know.

After surprisingly finding several cans of food in the family's kitchen downstairs, Naruto and Kushina made a meal out of what they could. It was mostly canned fruit and some canned bread, but it was rather delicious overall.

"Morning..." Ino came downstairs to the kitchen at last, her clothing a little rumpled. It was natural since they both slept in the same clothes as yesterday. Ino was also surprised at the sight of food, but Kushina made sure to part enough of the canned food for the girl, as she was sure that the other human was hungry as well.

Kushina sighed at the food, it wasn't ramen, but it was a nice change of food-style for once. She couldn't say the same thing for Naruto, as he wept at the absence of no ramen packets (Something that she too mourned). After mentioning that there was no water to boil anyways, he straightened up and ate the fruit and bread.

When Naruto gazed at the dark town's clock again, it read only the words "New Moon" on it. Kushina gazed at the clock as well and decided to tell them what they meant.

"I'm sure you haven't heard of the moon phases, have you Naruto?" Kushina asked. Naruto shook his head, curious about these moon phases.

"The time read here is the same as gazing at the moon. Understandably so since there is no sunlight. Any light at all comes from the moon, which is always there above the demon world." Kushina explained, remembering everything she learned from other angels.

"For some reason, demons who aren't contracted by devil summoners before the Full moon turn feral and will often attack other demons for dominance. It goes away after the full moon is gone, but it happens so scarcely that the demons are usually wary when the phase before it appears."

"How many human days does it take to change phases?" Naruto asked.

"I believe that it takes around three to four days between changes of phases. We are beginning the New Moon phase, so demons are very mellow right now. There won't be as many possible encounters, but we should still keep our guard up." Kushina warned and Naruto nodded, his grip on his sword very tight.

After closing the door to her home (Ino made sure to lock it), the trio made sure they were ready for another day of investigation. The New Moon made the demonic stares at them more easy to handle, since their fierceness was dulled somehow.

As they neared the central area of the Shopping District, Naruto felt a large pressure on himself. It was almost suffocating as he dropped to his knees to a shocked Ino and Kushina. The pressure let up suddenly as Naruto could only gasp air while worrying Ino. He looked around for the source of the pressure, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The pressure must have been felt by the other demons, for their watchful eyes disappeared as well.

"What was that?" Naruto asked. Ino shrugged, she felt a dampening on the air as Naruto dropped to his knees. Kushina looked more battle ready as she gazed their surroundings once more. After finding none, she calmed down. She felt the same pressure, but being in the demon world longer than her contractor, she could resist it better.

After making sure Naruto was fine, the three kept going on their way. Naruto was still wondering where the source of the pressure came from when Ino suddenly spoke up.

"Hey...this is where they found Yumiko's body!" Ino gasped aloud. Naruto saw the scene for the first time without wandering ninja and curious civilians stretching for a gaze into the scene.

The place seemed to be in worse shape than the other buildings in the area. He could also see broken windows and large claw marks on the surrounding buildings' walls.

"I guess we found where Yumiko might have been killed." Naruto commented and started looking around for anything useful on what killed her. He would have taken a picture but he was pretty sure that Gouto investigated the area thoroughly as a spirit.

An hour into helping Naruto and Kushina in their search for clues, Ino decided to enter Yumiko's home, after remembering that this was the street where she lived. Ino wondered if Yumiko even got far from her home before whatever killed her so brutally.

After entering the house with Naruto (Kushina standing guard outside the abandoned home), the pair started to look into why a demon would attack her family and her so specifically and not wreak other havoc to other people. It was almost as if they were targeted by this demon.

It seemed to Naruto that there weren't many possessions in the home, since there wasn't much in the way of furniture. The way that Gouto elaborated on the subject of the dark world of towns, it seemed that only small things, like photos and books were absent when a dark world was formed. Yumiko's home was rather empty.

When they reached Yumiko's room, the found something rather peculiar.

There was an open tome on the floor and what looked like several drawings of runes on the carpet floor of her room was still visible. It looked pretty recent as well as carefully drawn.

"This is one strange room..." Naruto muttered to himself as he picked up the open tome. He glanced at the page that it was on and he was shocked. The picture was one of that humanoid monster that chased him on the first day he became a devil summoner!

He read the text on the bottom of the picture..._**"Ghoul"**_, it read.

So the monster that killed Yumiko was probably a ghoul, Naruto concluded.

He had to wonder though, what was the drawings on the floor though. If he was any sort of genius, he would have to say that it was a complex summoning seal. Yumiko didn't seem to be the genius summoner type, but the array was there and it raises some questions about Yumiko's life outside the academy.

"Hey look at this! This diary is glowing!" Ino said from a nearby drawer in the room. Naruto peered closer to where Ino was looking at she was right. There was a faintly glowing diary inside the drawer. It looked normal and he felt nothing malicious out of it so he picked it up. He tried opening it, but it seemed to glued shut and wouldn't open. However, when Ino tried to open it, the diary opened easily.

After dismissing it as something only Ino could do at this point, she started reading a page from the diary.

_Month I, day XXIV_

_Dear Diary,_

_My parents are fighting again. Mother is trying to find sources of money to pay for dad's debts. She had to use Hokage-sama's stipend for my school supplies. I hope that sensei doesn't recognize that I've been using two year old kunai and shuriken..._

_I bought a really old book today, I've found so many strange pictures on it, but I've found something strange on it...Its a circle pattern!_

Ino frowned at the entry, but she continued reading the next page.

_Month I, day XXV_

_I've drawn the seal...but I'm having strange voices in my head. My mother was recoiling from the fight from yesterday...Father struck her..._

_I'm scared, he never struck her before..._

Now Ino was getting a bit scared, this diary seemed to be recording her final days. She flipped to the last entry, which was the day she died.

_Month II, day II_

_The voices in my head...they told me to summon Ghoul-sama...Ghoul-sama? What is happening to me? My head hurts so much...I thought I saw the seal glow last night._

_My parents are quiet too, I feel that something bad is going to happen..._

"There is nothing else...what happened, Yumiko?" Ino asked herself. Naruto shook his head and pocketed the tome and diary. He took a photo of the seal with the portable camera that Gouto provided. It looked old, but it seemed to be more modern than those tripod cameras he saw on sale in the shopping district in regular Konoha.

"I don't think there's anything else...let's go-" An explosion rumbled the house suddenly. Naruto panicked, Kushina!

Rushing outside, Naruto was shocked to see Kushina doing a dogfight with a high jumping creature and it was all very fast.

Kushina rapidly chanted several spells and were throwing them in rapid succession to her opponent. However, the demon didn't even seem to flinch at the attacks and struck with his claws at Kushina with frightening speed.

Naruto could only stare in horror as the creature just _went through _a shocked Kushina. Her side was slashed so cleanly that her blood didn't spill out until a clear five seconds later. Her moan of pain was silent as she fell from the sky, her wings suddenly stopped supporting her flight.

"Kushina!" Naruto shouted her partner's name as he rushed toward her falling body. Ino's eyes widened as the Angel was falling so quickly, her blood just flowing from her wound so rapidly.

Naruto got to her in time just as she was about to hit the floor, she landed in his arms instead. Naruto didn't know what to do, her blood was just flowing too quickly.

"No...Kushina..." Naruto could only plead as Kushina's lips started to turn blue. She was only moaning as her wounds started to get a green tinge.

Ino could only tear up as the angel's situation got worse and worse. Her eyes widened as the shadowy opponent growled and started to run toward Naruto, who was worried about his partner's fate.

"Naruto!" Ino screamed out as the creature swiped at Naruto's back. However, Naruto swiped at the claw with his sword with such precision and speed that it seemed unreal.

The monster's claw was swiped clean off and it howled in pain as it backed away from Naruto. However, Naruto didn't seem to be himself and Ino saw why.

Kushina wasn't breathing...

As Ino rushed toward her side, she saw Naruto become extremely angry. She actually saw a _red _aura envelop Naruto as he growled almost animal like. He didn't seem to care that he was excluding an aura of pressure that seemed to surpass what Naruto describe as even Ino felt the heavy aura of _death_...

As Ino looked over Kushina's body, she could only panic as the blood stopped flowing, but Kushina wasn't responding to her calls.

Ino started to cry in sorrow, how could something so cruel take something as holy as an Angel? They weren't hurting anyone! This wasn't fair!

Ino's eyes widened even more as she thought back to when she attended a funeral for someone in her clan. Her cousin's face of agony as he stood there unwavering at the service. He was probably thinking that it wasn't fair that his father had died so suddenly.

She wasn't related to this angel, how could anyone be? However, her short stay with her made a deep impact inside her soul. It must have been especially hard on Naruto, who has been together for far longer than her. It was so heartbreaking...

The battle at hand prevented her from thinking down that train of thought any further though.

Naruto roared in primal rage as he swung his sword with both rapid succession and accurate precision. The demon had no chance to defend itself as it took the blows fully. When Naruto had enough of its swinging, he began his finishing move. Launching the demon up into the air, the moonlight showed the demon's form for what it was.

It was the Ghoul from the book.

Naruto growled as he skipped the seals for his bunshin and instead swung by himself through the skull first. He landed on the floor but instantly rocketed to swing back up the Ghoul's corpse. He kicked off from the corpse to hit one of the walls of the streets' buildings. He repeated this with frightening skill that he actually carved nine deep lines on the fading Ghoul's corpse. However, before letting it die normally, Naruto used this red aura to jump a bit higher than the Ghoul to charge his Axe sword with the red energy, giving the blade a blood red edge. He threw the Axe sword like a giant tomahawk at the body and actually shattered it into nine bloody pieces. The Axe sword landed in a foot crater after going through the demon's body.

Ino couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as Naruto's red aura didn't fade after killing that monster. She could only do one thing that would protect her as Naruto's wild look stared at her and started growling at her as a warning to get away. Desperate, Ino started her seal sequence as Naruto started to stalk to her and Kushina, his nails growing into claws and acting like the demon he just destroyed.

When she finished with the last seal, it was just in time as Naruto started to swing his claw like arm at her.

"Shintenshin!" Ino screamed out and her world faded.

**X-X**

Gouto had a cold feeling, like his idiot apprentice had tapped into a power that was long thought to be sealed away...he only wished he was wrong, but know his luck, that just wasn't possible...

**X-X**

Waking up to a sewer like tunnel, Ino got up from the water like substance and started to look around her new surroundings. She could see nothing but dank light and water so her observations ended there. Seeing no choice, she walked forward and heard a piercing scream, as if it was in pain and agony. Looking around very quickly, Ino could only hear the screams of pain, agony...and anger?

Running forward to where she believed the screams were coming from, Ino was shocked to see Kushina waiting for her.

"Kushina? You're alive?" Ino asked but the Angel didn't answer. Her face was unusually solemn, a far cry from the mischievous and happy look that she sported often. She could only point at Ino and then at herself as she flew in a slow pace in a random direction. Ino got the impression that Kushina wanted her to follow.

After following nonstop, Ino was lead to a large room with a large gate in the distance. Her concern wasn't with that though, she found something much more pressing.

Naruto was face down in the bubbling water.

Quickly grabbing Naruto from the unusually hot water, he dragged a pain ridden Naruto who was still moaning Kushina's name. Ino tried to tell him that Kushina was right here, but when she looked to where Kushina left her, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Kushina...Kushina..." Naruto cried out. Ino noticed that with each second and with each rise of desperation that Naruto's voice showed, the bubbling water seemed to grow with more ferocity. Ino was probably imagining it, but she heard a dark chuckle in her mind as the bubbles seemed to take form.

Dreading what the finished product of those bubbles were, she tried to shake Naruto from his stupor. Nothing worked...except...

It was in an old film she watched with her dad when she was small, and it was the first thing that came to her mind.

She slapped him...hard.

It worked as the bubbles fell apart and Naruto could only wake up and feel the sting of the slap. Naruto could only stiffen as Ino suddenly hugged him. He instinctively hugged back as their world went white.

Ino gasped out as she woke in her own body again. She saw Naruto's prone form shake and stir as he groaned in pain. He woke up and Ino couldn't see the red aura surrounding him anymore.

"W-where am I?" Naruto groaned out, as if he had a huge headache from spinning around or drinking too much. However, his recent memories spurred him toward searching for his fallen partner. He wasn't prepared though, for a figure in a scientist's getup to be prodding her dead figure with awe.

"You! Get away from Kushina!" Naruto shouted as he tried to ram the new figure from his friend's body. The figure, however, merely sidestepped and didn't even bother to watch Naruto slam into a wall. He was more interested in the fallen partner than Naruto's rather stupid tactic.

"W-what are you doing to Kushina?" Ino asked, shocked at the callous treatment of the fallen angel. The figure just smiled and picked up the body with one hand while motioning Ino with the other.

Naruto could only groan as he tried to grab for his sword to attack this assailant but could hiss and pain as the figure just stomped on his hand.

Ino felt sorry for Naruto as she helped him up and tried to grab the abnormally heavy sword. Naruto however, grabbed the sword in one hand and put it in its scabbard as he could do nothing without hurting Kushina in the process.

"Where are you taking us?" Ino asked the figure as it stopped to an abandoned home and she recognized the home as the place next door to her very own home!

"Don't worry now, I'll have this fabulous specimen back up and running to fighting fit!" The figure laughed insanely as he kicked in the doorway and disappeared down a set of stairs that Ino was sure wasn't there when she visited the building the other week.

The blonde duo could only stare in amazement as they were led to a lab that only should have existed in the horror films of old. It was stocked up with various bubbling chemicals and large generators of electricity were humming with intensity. Two well charred cages stood in the back of the room with an operating table before it.

The figure dumped Kushina's body rather roughly to the operating table and started to stretch the rubber gloves on its form.

He started to laugh insanely, creeping out both Naruto and Ino.

"I'm guessing this is the first time you've seen a demon die, haven't you, apprentice devil summoner?"

Naruto's eyes widened. Who was he, and how did he know that?

"Who are you?" Naruto asked the figure as it connected several wires to Kushina's body. Naruto didn't like this bastard's treatment of his dead friend, and he certainly didn't like the figure putting wires on her body.

"My name..." The figure paused as it pulled a nearby switch next to the operating table. The large generators started to crackle and explode with overcharged electricity and the sparks made clear on the figure's face. It was a pale white skinned man with a large scientist's overcoat and large rubber gloves. A pair of goggles was on the man's eyes as he watched the energy from the generators pulse into Kushina's twitching body.

Ino was mesmerized as the wounds that Kushina sported were closing up and healing as the electricity entered her body in large amounts. Naruto couldn't believe it either as the color of Kushina's skin was returning to her light peachy color. After a few more seconds, the scientist pulled back the switch and the electricity stopped pouring into her. It was almost instantaneous as Kushina gasped and sat up from the operating table. Both Naruto and Ino gasped, who was this man to bring back a soul from death to living once again?

"...IS VICTOR, DEMON SCIENTIST EXTRODINAIRE!" The man, Victor began laughing even more insanely as the generators sparked out excess electricity, making for a rather impressive introduction.

Naruto and Kushina couldn't believe that the life and death of his contracted demons was in the hands of this insane man...it was just too crazy to be real.

"Hehehehe...tell Gouto this, young apprentice. Victor is coming to Konoha soon." He said mysteriously as he charged up the generators once more.

"Its too far for you to go back the way you came. Fortunately, this little girl's house seems to have a point for exiting this world somewhere inside." Victor explained as he grabbed two live wires with ease and stuck them between two holes on a wooden box. The wooden box seemed to glow with intense energy before returning to a normal color for wood.

Victor grinned as he pulled out the wires and grabbed the box. He tossed it to Ino, who caught it with both hands. She expected to get shocked, but felt no such thing to her wonder and amazement.

"Just use that box where the weak point is located at and you'll be back in the real world. I think you've killed the rampant demon that was causing so much trouble for the denizens here and now they'll start to come back out to make this town a lively village again. I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Victor bowed as he escorted them out of his laboratory and into the demon world above. Almost instantly, the trio saw demons test the open roads outside and start chattering to their brethren to do the same.

After entering Ino's home again, the two blondes started looking for the supposed weak point that would allow them to come back to the world that they knew. They tried the kitchen, bathroom and even Ino's parent's bedroom, but the box wouldn't even twitch. However, as they passed by Ino's room, the box started to glow faintly.

As they entered Ino's bedroom, the box started to glow brighter and brighter until the box opened on its own. A large distortion appeared over Ino's bed and both Naruto and Ino nodded. They both jumped into the distortion with Kushina close behind as the world started to distort and expand before their eyes.

Naruto landed first on Ino's bed and wasn't prepared for Ino's body to slam into his own in a compromising position as his hands were on a blushing Ino's chest. As he said sorry and was about to push her off, Inoichi Yamanaka chose this particular moment to investigate the sudden thumping coming from his little missing flower's bedroom.

A very awkward silence took precedence as both preteens watched the daughter's father steel his face into a mix of relief and anger, mostly anger.

"Ino Yamanaka!" Her father shouted as Ino panicked and pushed off Naruto's chest, who went stock still. Even Kushina felt sorry for the girl as she was looking at her enraged father.

Both Kushina and Naruto felt cold dread as Inoichi's rage focused on both of them. Even if she was invisible to normal humans, Kushina felt that his anger was directed at her too.

"You! How dare you come here! You think you are being a man for taking my daughter's innocence!" Inoichi raged and started to stalk toward a very scared Naruto.

Outside the Yamanaka home, the civilians could only wonder why there were pleas for forgiveness, shouts of a young girl pleading for her father to stop and a very angry Inoichi raging like never before against a boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time...

_**Case Closed!**_

**What did you think of that ending? Was it good or bad?**

**Wait for next time as Naruto's adventures continue as the world's newest devil summoner.**

**Laters!**

**Terra Ace**

**FutureStamp ©: So, another edited version, nothing heavy. Enjoy!**


	5. Shadow Boxing

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 5

Shadow Boxing

It was now early March and the beginnings of spring was evident as Konoha kicked up its usual hustle and bustle. With spring arriving, there was an increase in activity that came with the warm village region.

Shoppers in the shopping district, civilian children attending schools for their future professions. Ninja hopefuls attending the spring portion of the academy, and Naruto being bored out of his skull trying to make heads or tails out of his new teacher.

Iruka Umino was a freshly installed teacher hired by the Academy Department of the Hokage's office. As a new teacher, they are automatically assigned a teacher's aide and to the teacher's surprise, it was his old friend Mizuki.

Mizuki was a teacher's aide trying to get his teacher's license for about four years. During his bid to promote himself from an assistant to being a full time teacher, he showed a affinity for hard work and his record showed it. His demeanor was rather friendly and he was very supportive of his friend's ascension to teacher-hood before him, for he seemed to bear no ill will.

They apparently worked very well when they were ninja rank and file, so the department paired them up again.

Naruto gazed around the more spacious classroom and spotted fewer students than usual. The Academy suffered a withdrawal of students and teachers following Yumiko's death, saying that the school had a bad reputation for letting one of its own die. Even if it was no fault of the school, the Academy Department was threatened with dissolution from the civilian portion of the clan council, despite full support from the clan council for the department.

The solution? Hire fresh talent and provide a more safer environment.

The Academy was going through a huge renovation with a reinforcement to the school walls and an addition to an indoor training ground for kunai and shuriken training. Chain link fences were being installed by the school tracking grounds via private funding from the Konoha Clan Council. It took the death of that one little girl to spur actions that was being desperately asked for years by the academy.

After returning and somehow surviving the process of becoming paste via Inoichi Yamanaka, Naruto told Gouto about what happened with Victor, and Kushina's death and return to life via Victor's strange machine. He also showed Gouto the tome and diary that was found in Yumiko's dark world version of her home.

All Gouto had to say on the matter was "Case Closed."

It was rather anticlimactic actually.

After explaining to Naruto who Victor was, Naruto was rather relieved that his demons that were contracted with him were always safe from permanent death. However, Gouto warned, that letting them fall into this state too often could result in more than just a slap on the wrist.

After being debriefed by Gouto on the manner of the death of Yumiko and the subsequent eradication of the demon who caused it, Naruto mentioned that another human girl has been captured by this demon boss of Konoha.

Gouto stood silent as he took in the information from Naruto's story. Without a word that he even heeded Naruto's story, Gouto told him to start practicing while the evening was young. Not really surprised by the cat's non caring nature on what he thought was relevant information, Naruto obeyed and began his routine.

He was surprised a few days later that a photo of said kidnapped girl was delivered via envelope to the boy's house. Any indication of the sender that was said on the envelope was aptly put in one word.

Victor.

The photo surprisingly was a vantage point of the murdered girl, Yumiko. She seemed to be rather happy in the photo being surrounded by a group of Jack frosts and Pyro Jacks. The boss demon was shadowed but he seemed to be extremely huge and had an outline of a wig. Naruto had to wonder as to whatever happened with that Obariyon that ran off after the fight in the dark world?

Days went on and Naruto continued with life in the academy. His adventure with Ino was kept under wraps as Ino decided not to talk about it, seeing that it affected her rather deeply. Besides, Ino said to Naruto a few days after their little adventure, who would believe her?

Back to the present, Naruto wasn't sure what to make out of the new teacher. He wasn't boring like their other teacher, who quit saying that the news of one of his student's deaths was too much for him to bear. He seemed to be a mix of both boring and optimistic, something that Naruto has never seen before in a teacher.

"Ok class, we are going onto the field for some shuriken training." Iruka, their new teacher, said as some of the battle happy students cheered and some of the pacifists (mostly girls and a few boys) groaned and had to trudge behind the rushers, which included Naruto.

Apparently Gouto's training did not teach Naruto control. You would think that with a strict training regiment, the personality of a ten year old will be one of a thirty year old...

At the training field, Iruka instructed that he wanted to see how skilled they were and where they needed work. After calling them in a random order, Naruto was able to see who were superior in distance marksmanship, and those that could do better in close range methods, like fighting hand to hand.

He noticed that Kiba absolutely just sucked at firing shuriken, and he guessed that he wouldn't be so hot on kunai throwing. He only hit four out ten times.

When Shino Aburame was called up, he was rather advanced at the new teacher's test. While they weren't all bulls-eyes, hitting eight out of ten times in areas where it would be vital was rather impressive.

Sakura's performance was rather textbook. She took her time with each hit as if convincing herself that she could do this over and over again. She hit an average score of eight, rather impressive for her rather thin build.

Ino took Sakura's score as a sort of competition as she launched her shuriken faster and with more ferocity than Sakura. Her score was still the same as Sakura's though, only eight.

Naruto then spied a rather fidgety girl come up to the testing area. He didn't remember her ever introducing herself to him, so her name wasn't familiar to him. She was rather flimsy in her throws, as if afraid of the target...or rather what her throws will do to the bulls-eye as if it was a real person.

Her score was rather abysmal, hitting only three out of ten.

"Hyuuga-sama" Iruka began, ignoring the flinch from the girl. Weren't the Hyuuga clan proud of their power, why was the heiress to the most powerful clan since the fallen Uchiha clan doing so terribly?

"Is there a problem with your performance today?" He finished, noticing the slight shaking of the girl. Naruto noticed and even Ino noticed it. The other children were too busy waiting or talking about their scores and comparing them with each other.

"N-no...I just haven't been practicing my throws lately..." The heiress said so quietly that Iruka had to strain his hearing to catch it.

"Ok, just keep practicing. We are going to have this kind of test more often." Iruka said gently to the girl, which seemed to have no effect on her fidgeting.

"Ok, next up...Naruto!" Iruka said with a rather neutral sort of tone, as if calculating his worth with this test. Naruto figured he was one of those who didn't know whether to hate him or like him.

"I'm sure you know the rules by now. Score enough hits and try to make as many center bulls-eyes as possible. Begin whenever you are ready." Iruka instructed. Naruto nodded and grabbed his shuriken as he focused on his target.

The first throw was just at the edge of painted bulls-eye, but it still counted. Iruka frowned but put a point besides Naruto's name as a valid hit. Naruto shook his head, he knew he could do better than that.

His second throw was an improvement as it edged closer to the bulls-eye, but not by much. In fact, it was rather diagonal to the first one. Some children started giggling and calling him names under their breath. Iruka still counted it as a valid hit though, and Naruto was starting to get a positive feel from this man.

His third attempt was a lot closer to the center but it still lacked the precision of a direct hit. It still had the strange diagonal direction as the other two, but none but the most critical thinking students paid it any mind. The other students were brushing off the attempt as a lucky shot.

His fourth, fifth and sixth attempts were rather random as they hit three different points on the bulls-eye . It still had the same diagonal pathway as the others and Iruka still counted them all. A few of the sharper eyed students started to see the pattern that Naruto was making and started to murmur and think of possible answers as to why Naruto was doing this.

Naruto thought it was just plain cheating, so did Ino for that matter.

Why?

It was because Kushina was using her green energy spells to use the wind to force the shuriken in a given direction. It was a game to her, a rather fun game if her large grin was any indication.

His seventh and eighth attempts were not "assisted" by Kushina as one finally hit the bulls-eye center and another one was in the middle range of the bulls-eye. Iruka smiled a bit at the center hit and made a double mark on Naruto's name as well as an extra one for the middle range shot. Iruka's eyes sneaked around and spotted the fidgety Hyuuga heiress relax and smile at the blonde with a tiny rosy blush on her face. It looked like the princess is affectionate for the village pauper!

His ninth hit actually was a mixture of both manipulation and bad luck as Kushina's meddling and a sudden gust of natural wind made his ninth shuriken bounce off one of his earlier throws. Iruka had no choice but to not mark it as a valid hit, despite the acts of god that clearly manipulated the throw.

Naruto focused really hard on this last throw. He wanted to make this on his own and not "helped" by Kushina. He gave a slight glance to where Kushina was hiding and shook his head slightly. Iruka caught it and glanced over to where Naruto was looking at but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Shaking his head, he gave Naruto the go ahead.

Naruto was rather forceful whenever he went on the attack, as Ino and Kushina witnessed as he fought those demons in Dark Konoha. His style of using an Axe infused sword was dependent on how much recklessness he could muster with each swing. Shuriken was the exact opposite, as it required no more pressure than a quick flick of the wrist and letting the wind carry it to its target.

The result was the shuriken flying out of control and flying high into the sky. Naruto's face burned with embarrassment as nearly all of the children, Ino included started laughing at his mistake. Hinata was looking at him with pity but he didn't notice, instead watching fascinatingly at the falling shuriken that somehow didn't fly into the distance. Shino, Iruka and Naruto were watching as the shuriken fell and did the most amazing thing.

It landed just above the ninth shuriken in the center of the bulls-eye. With that, every student who laughed at him was gawking and murmuring that it was an incredibly lucky landing.

Iruka smiled, Naruto was unorthodox, but all ninjas who were meant something in the world were.

"Nine hits Naruto, very impressive! You might walk away today with being the head student in the physical portion of the academy." Iruka complimented a rather bashful Naruto. It seemed that he didn't take compliments very well.

"Next up, Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka read off as he watched a boy with black hair step up into the testing area. A lot of girls started to cheer and faint at his presence while the boys weren't exactly too thrilled to see the boy.

Sasuke seemed to be a robot in a routine, as each and every hit was in the close range or in the center itself. Only one was in the middle range and it was a technicality called by Iruka, something that angered the Uchiha.

"Ten hits Sasuke, very impressive! It looks like we have a new champion in the physical race of the academy." Iruka congratulated Sasuke, who looked rather sullen at the news. Naruto sighed, he would never understand the world of the emo...

After school, Naruto had a pretty good view on his new teacher. Iruka was a straight forward teacher who took his job rather seriously. He graded fairly and his actions today felt like he was judged accurately rather than having to try harder than normal for a fair grade.

He was a teacher who actually...well taught in a balanced manner, in Naruto's opinion.

Naruto was gathering up his stuff and carefully packing away his shuriken when he witnessed something outside the window that spoke something else than what was told.

The Hyuuga heiress was throwing her shuriken with a better vigor than what the class saw earlier today. She was hitting with a better rate than before and her targets were aimed better at the center of the bulls-eye than normal.

It was as if she was hiding her talent from everyone else, and it was a natural reflex as well.

Naruto could stare as she gathered up her shuriken and started throwing at the target again and again, each time improving just a bit more.

While he would've liked to see her practice more and more, Gouto was a rather punctual trainer and he didn't like tardiness at all.

Somewhere in Konoha, a masked individual sneezed. He paid it no heed and continued reading.

**X-X**

As the days went by and Naruto continued to watch the heiress practice more and more while doing rather feebly in class examinations, Ino got curious and started to hang behind and see what was taking Naruto's time. As far as Ino knew, he usually rushed to his housing complex as soon as the bell rung.

She soon saw what took up his time and couldn't help but be amazed at the performance that the girl was hiding from her peers. If she recalled correctly, her name was Hinata, the heir to the Hyuuga clan.

After telling Naruto that she thought that it would be better to coax her out of her shyness to show her talent, all she got was a confused look from the boy. It never occurred to the boy to try such a thing and was content on watching her practice. Ino only sighed irritated by the boy's sudden passiveness on the matter. It was as if...

It was as if he enjoyed her practice in solitude!

Ino had no idea why it made her so angry at the boy. However, her feelings were dashed when Naruto seemed to answer her thoughts.

"Don't you see Ino? The girl is like a mirror image of me." Naruto said simply to a silent Ino. Was she truly a mirror to the blonde?

"She does poorly in her efforts cause she has all this pressure on her, but when shes alone...she can do things freely. Kind of like me, but I don't care whether someone is watching or not." Naruto continued his musings while watching Hinata practice another round. Somehow, during his musings, the pair of blondes were watching her behind a tree where the girl was training. Ino wondered how they got to here from watching from the second floor classroom, but shook off her wandering thoughts.

As Naruto explained her qualities as opposed to himself, Ino started to see the similarities of the girl's efforts to his own. Whenever Naruto would do a decent job, the girl's efforts improved substantially. However, Ino thought to herself, that when Hinata was up before Naruto, her efforts were erratic, like a bat in the sunlight.

Naruto and Ino weren't the only ones who saw Hinata's performance slide up and down, Iruka noticed the connections between the blonde and the heiress as well and began making Hinata go first to try and break her dependence on Naruto's performance mirroring hers. She won't make it far if she has to see someone else do a superior job and using that as her grading scale, after all.

After the day's practice ended, Ino decided to confront Hinata and extend her friendship to her. Her spying on the girl's practices made a level of respect for the girl rise within Ino.

As Naruto left to his evening practice, Ino approached the practicing Hinata. Her focus was sharper than earlier today in the class practice, and Ino wondered why was she really hiding her talents in the face of others. If she was really this good, then she would be a shoe in for the female lead at school.

Ino waited until Hinata finished before approaching a slightly tired Hinata.

"Hey!" Ino greeted a startled Hinata, who started to revert back into her shy mode. Ino frowned internally, this would not do.

"Y-yes?" Hinata stuttered out and her eyes were shifting side to side, as if trying to spot other hidden students.

"That was pretty good! You seem like a pro shooting those shuriken!" Ino complimented, trying to break the ice between the rapidly shying girl. It seemed to work as Hinata started to blush at the compliment.

"Thanks..." Hinata murmured as she started to pick up her shuriken that missed her target. Ino had to tread carefully now, she didn't want to seem forceful to the girl. Perhaps trying to compliment some more?

"I've been seeing you practice for a while now." Ino started and saw her stiffen, but in fear or surprise, she didn't know.

"I think you would be a good person for being our head female student of our class. You would be able to sha-" Ino was interrupted by a soft murmuring from Hinata.

"...n...g...h" Hinata said again as Ino strained to hear her words again. This time however, Hinata snapped and did a 180 change.

"I said I'm not good enough!" Hinata said angrily before gasping and collecting the rest of her things. Ino's shouts of calling back Hinata were ignored as she ran off from the school grounds. Ino sighed, there was more to Hinata's story than what was being shown.

**X-X**

Hinata was the heir to Konoha's most powerful clan politically and some would argue physically. Her story was ranging from being on easy street to being the hardest path since the founding of the village.

Hinata could only describe her life as hell.

Her father seemed to be judging her from her first breath each morning to her daily spars with her vindictive sister. Her father was strict as being the head of the clan demanded that he be so, but his actions in the years after her third birthday bordered on sadistic and Hinata could only guess her uncle's death hit him very hard.

Her sister was raised from the beginning to be the perfect little soldier and viewed her human sister as an obstacle to her rise for power. Hinata still remembered her first year, she was so sweet and innocent who looked at life with a shining eye of curiosity.

That was before her father took her for personal training. Her eyes are dulled and mocking now, most of her sights were aimed at Hinata.

Her father demanded a lot of her, but to Hinata, her spars with her own sister was some sort of a sick pleasure to him. As if he enjoyed trying to distance the two blood sisters apart more and more apart with each fight. Hinata didn't make the connection until her sister, Hanabi, used her innocent expression to startle Hinata and use the hesitance to soundly defeat her.

Her father's words sounded true in her head as he gave his "analysis" of their fight.

"Sometimes your enemy will do the same thing to you and it won't be as simple as a knock out. Even if it is your sister, she is your opponent first."

Her father was infamous for showing no emotion, but Hinata could've sworn that her father's eyes shined with a memory behind them.

After that, she started practicing and trying to be as emotionless as was required to be a future head clan.

That was before she met Naruto Uzumaki. His spirit and strength was what she needed to truly change, but she couldn't seem to muster up any courage to talk to the strong boy. Instead, she observed him and copied his performance to look for the answer instead. For years she observed and committed his training and performance on the field to be her own.

It wasn't until recently that she saw a change in the boy's mannerisms. It was almost instant as he started to show a more calculating side to his usual bright demeanor. She concluded that Naruto found the answer that she was seeking, that he found the one thing that she tried to emulate all these years...

It was years since her father's words were spoken and she still couldn't find the answer!

So she kept training in the style that Naruto frequented and her aiming skills were getting near impeccable. Her other problem was her own self esteem, and the mechanisms of the student body.

As she was observing, she was able to see how the shift of school popularity and power was distributed around the two top students of their grade.

She was confused as to how someone who was the epitome of true strength like Naruto was ridiculed as the class clown, while someone who uses strength for darker purposes like Sasuke is admired by all?

Hinata was one of many who knew that Sasuke's clan was obliterated in one night, but she didn't know who did it. When she eavesdropped on gossiping villagers, there were multiple guesses.

One was saying that it was an inside job, and another was a spy in the clan loyal to another village. For all the theories, Hinata felt that none of them was close to the truth.

It was a real surprise when Ino Yamanaka, a girl high in the popularity scale came to talk to her. She looked like she was very interested in talking to a girl who was supposed to be invisible to her social radar.

Hinata shook her head, no one wanted to be her friend. Anyone who talked to her saw her as 'Hyuuga-sama' or 'Hinata-sama'. They always wanted to score points with the clan if they could make friends with the heiress.

So she ran from the girl who approached her, but her sad view as she activated her Byakugan made her falter a bit, could she be her first friend?

No, she reminded herself. She wanted something, just like everyone else.

As Hinata was on the road to where her clan compound was at, she stopped. Her thoughts were taking a dark turn again...if she didn't stop...

Thinking of Naruto and his never give up personality made her thoughts grow brighter. He always somehow influenced her personality and made her try and see the bright side of things. It worked in the beginning for a while but now and again it fails miserably and her thoughts go dark again at a much faster rate than before.

As she stepped closer to her compound, a sharp ringing in her ears started to sound. Hinata groaned and clutched her head. Those dark thoughts were starting to affect her physically now, she needed to regain control...

A sudden flare up in chakra came up from Hinata as she collapsed on the ground but did not lose unconsciousness. She looked up weakly and her eyes widened.

A being with a dark aura was looking at her with a neutral face before looking around its surroundings. As the figure stepped into the light, Hinata stared in astonishment.

It was another her!

The being, Hinata's copy only sneered as she looked back at the original. It wasn't fully independent from its prison, if the growl from her copy's throat and even sharper glare was evident enough.

When the copy spoke, it sounded like her voice laced with a demonic aura. It was full of hate but her intentions were whimsical as it spoke rather lightly.

"It seems that I can't be myself again, I still feel a need to be linked by human mannerisms from you. No matter, I shall hide you while I live your life for you. I shall eat for you, so your body won't wither. Your energy is fully mine however, so you won't be able to move."

The copy paused.

"Now...where to hide you?" The copy spoke to itself while looking around. Hinata could only stare as her weakness allowed herself to be beaten by her own thoughts.

"Ah, I've got it... I'll hide you in plain sight!" The copy seemed happy as it dragged Hinata's form to a broken fence. It threw Hinata into the broken fence and dragged a nearby trashcan to hide the girl. Hinata found to her horror that she couldn't even scream for help.

"I told you, I have all your energy. You won't be able to talk, walk or even blink. I'm not that cold hearted though. You can still breathe and move your eyes!" The copy laughed as it walked away in the form of Hinata. Hinata wanted to cry at her situation, but found that she had no energy to even muster up the tears.

**X-X**

For the next few days, the copy kept up appearances. It didn't escape Ino however, that the girl she tried to befriend the other day changed attitudes on and off. Sometimes she would shy away and copy Naruto's score in physical tests, and other times she would score top marks. At first she thought it was your normal coming out of your shell thing.

When she tried to ask Sasuke out, however...not only was Ino pissed off, but she was instantly suspicious. The girl had no interest in Sasuke-kun before, and judging from the surprised look from Sasuke before brushing her off, he thought so too.

Of course, it didn't stop from the more ignorant admirers from trying to confront her.

The school nurse saw record cases of girls crying and sporting black eyes or bruises from direct assaults on the girl. Ino went to visit them out of the sake of saving face of her popularity when she saw Sakura laying unconscious in a bed and she was looking the worst out of all of them.

The nurse explained that she used ninja knowledge to defeat the girl, and Hinata used ninja and clan techniques to obliterate Sakura.

Thankfully, it seemed that she missed anything vital and would be recovering from her dark bruises with the aid of medical chakra. She would be up and running tomorrow morning, she reported to a worried Ino.

As much as she tried to see Sakura as her rival, she couldn't help remembering that she was her best friend first. She would have to tell Naruto about it, as something was not right with Hinata, but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. She left the office, not noticing that Sakura had an eye open as she walked away.

**X-X**

Ino always felt that the cat was more than meets the eye to Naruto. Aside from the fact it can talk and is invisible, the cat seems to be teaching a type of discipline to the boy. Granted, his personality hasn't changed much as he still looks like and acts like a clown in class. His demeanor however, when in a fight is that of a seasoned samurai, or getting close to it. He looked so serious when she saw him do combat in that other world. It was as he was analyzing the moves of his opponent with every swing and parry that Naruto and his opponent connected.

She soon caught up to where he was, investigating the portal to the dark world.

"Naruto!" Ino called out and Naruto looked back to a waving girl. He wasn't sure, but he felt that Ino was kind of a like a sidekick to him. She was like a friend to him while they were discussing the other world, but most of the time it was like they were complete strangers. So for her to call him out like this, well it was strange at least.

"What's up Ino? Is there another demon on the prowl?" He asked the girl, who looked as if she was contemplating the question.

"Yes...maybe? I don't know! Something's wrong with Hinata!" Ino got frustrated at how to label Hinata's shifting personality. She was also getting embarrassed at the gathering civilian children whispering rumors to each other. She couldn't hear what they were saying naturally, but she was sure it wasn't good.

"Who's Hinata?" He asked, confused. Ino looked at him as he was stupid. He was observing the girl for several days and he didn't know her name?

"The girl you were stalking, stupid!" Ino shouted, ticked off at the boy's stupidity.

"I wasn't stalking her! I was just...observing!" Naruto tried to defend himself while considering the fact that he was probably stalking her...

"Come on, lets go to my house. We might be able to talk to Gouto-sensei about it." Naruto added as he walked past Ino and the twittering children. Ino wondered who the hell was Gouto-sensei, but followed him, the gossiping children way in the back of her mind.

It was the third night as Hinata's doppelganger when the copy arrived at the compound, the copy was greeted by a stern looking father.

"Hinata, time for your lesson." He said simply and walked off. He thought it strange when Hinata just followed silently, as she always stuttered a bit before following. When the copy arrived, it found herself against a little girl. It assumed that it was that girl's sister or relative.

"The rules are the same as last night. Begin!" The clan head shouted as he stepped back to watch the fight. Hinata needed to start showing an improvement before he could call her his heir. If she continues to hold back, the clan is doomed.

A shout of vigor was heard from the little girl as she tried to strike the copy. What happened next shocked the observers of the fight as Hinata grabbed the wrist of the little girl and used some momentum to twist the girl's wrist. Hanabi tried to wrench away, but the copy swung her by the hurt wrist and threw her away from her. She landed painfully on the floor with her hands trying to instinctively cushion the fall.

The clan head, Hiashi, looked on in wonder. Could the string of losses finally snapped Hinata's meekness in half? He looked on with an impassive face as his thoughts betrayed his emotions.

Hanabi hissed a bit and used her only good arm with some kicks for good measure at a still Hinata. She was shocked when Hinata used her hands and a basic stance to block them all. Hinata still hasn't attacked, but that was normal as she used counters to try and push her off. Her hurt wrist was a new counter as Hinata never tried to hurt her, even while countering.

The copy was getting bored but it had to stay in character. The skin it was wearing and the thoughts it had stolen from the girl suggested that she was very pacifistic.

Hanabi then tried to use a new move that she learned from her father's private training. First she jumped behind a surprised Hinata, who moved to block her futile onslaught. She then used the pointed strikes that she practiced for months on the back of Hinata.

"Take this!" Hanabi shouted as she hit the known pressure points on the back and was satisfied as Hinata stumbled forward. She ran to the front of her dizzy opponent and struck her pressure points on the front when done correctly, did an automatic knock out and granted her victory. As a finishing move, she put all her energy into a tackle and sent the girl flying.

The copy was pissed at this point, no more acting and avoiding suspicions! This little girl tried to kill her? She would pay...

As Hiashi sighed and moved to stand up and grant another victory to Hanabi, his eye spotted a struggling Hinata. He sat down and watched the shocked little girl see her disabled opponent stand up with nary a scratch on her.

The copy lunged toward a shocked Hanabi as it used stolen memories to strike the girl almost identically over the girl's body. She then grabbed the pained girl and tossed her into the air. Hiashi was almost certain that his eyes played tricks on him as a flash of dark chakra enveloped his oldest daughter.

Her voice also shook him to the core. A voice that wasn't hers growled out of her throat, and shouted something that he paid no heed to. It looked like she finally fell out of her meekness and became the soldier he was looking for.

"**Time to end this...Mudoon!" **Hinata almost phased out as several beams of purple light sparkled above the flying Hanabi. Of course, this was all invisible to those who can't see such energy. Hiashi could only see Hinata speed out of his vision range and Hanabi scream out in pain as several puncture holes appeared in her body.

What was really happening to the girl was much more dark beams pierced through her body and was sending dark energy through her pores on her skin. She moaned as the dark energy was practically eating away at her lifeforce before it stopped. She fell like a rag doll and landed painfully on the arena grounds.

Hiashi saw Hinata phase back into existence and had to wonder if the Byakugan failed him as he had it activated all throughout the fight. Hinata slowly stepped onto Hanabi's eyesight range and contemplated her fate this day.

Hanabi didn't like to do this, but she had to win! She reverted back to her innocent gaze to try and buy her some time to pull out a victory. However, Hinata didn't seemed fazed by her false look and looked enraged for some reason.

The copy had enough of this little wench's tactics and raised her fist to end her pitiful life. She charged her energy with darkness as tried to snuff out the desperate girl's life. The fist came down but was being blocked for some reason. She looked toward who was holding her fist from accomplishing her task and was startled. So were the onlookers of the fight.

It was a haggard looking Hinata, but her cold eyes told the onlookers that she was fighting a malicious copy of herself.

What they didn't expect was a blonde haired kid, and another blonde haired girl approaching behind Hinata. The boy's sword was drawn out and the girl was watching the duplicate with intensity, as if seeing something that wasn't visible to the clan head's eyes.

**X-X**

Meanwhile, Gouto was analyzing the situation as he searched his memories as to what was born from the dark thoughts of a little girl. As the two copies faced off in silence, he narrowed it down to a few demons but had to see them fight to remove his doubts.

Hiashi stood silent as Hinata's eyes were different from the duplicate. Her eyes were focused, calm and ready to do battle, while the duplicate had widening eyes and her eyes were shifting from white to red.

The copy wasted no time as her fist charged dark energy and tried to use a stabbing motion to Hinata, who stepped outside and countered by using her weight to slam her arm to an exposed back. The copy hissed as the wounds didn't completely recover from the little wench's tactic.

As the copy went to charge the original Hinata, Naruto began to charge with a group of Hyuuga clansmen as backup toward the fake Hinata when two voices shouted at the same time.

"Stop!" Yelled Hiashi, halting his clansmen.

"Stop!" Shouted Gouto, who stopped Naruto and Kushina from joining the fray. Ino looked at the cat curiously and waited for a reason to why.

"This is her fight, let her fight for her right to exist." Hiashi said quietly, as if enjoying a theater show than a death match between a daughter and her apparent fake.

"I recognize the demon masking as that girl, and your blade cannot touch it. Only she can do harm to it." Gouto explained and watched the fight unfold. Naruto didn't want to stay still and watch an innocent girl get killed on his watch, but his master teacher/cat was a lot more knowledgeable about these things than he was. Reluctantly, Naruto put his blade away. Ino was fascinated about Gouto's explanation.

How old was this cat? Could she try and study about these demons somewhere? She would have to look into that...maybe she could ask Victor?

Ino shuddered suddenly. Her instincts told her that it was a very, very, VERY bad idea...

"You couldn't stay still could you? I would've made you great!" The copy Hinata snarled as she used a leg sweep technique on Hinata, who hopped away.

"My dark thoughts will never make me great!" The real Hinata shot back as she used her shuriken set that the copy didn't bother to take with it. The next few seconds were spent dodging several sharp pieces of metal thrown by the original. The copy, not used to projectiles took most of the shuriken to her blocked arms and legs.

Where blood would spill from the wounds however, only a dark wispy energy did instead. The copy looked on in agony as the energy sustaining this skin was being released. If it didn't get out soon, the energy would implode, taking it with it.

The normal people who couldn't see anything abnormal were able to see the real form of the copy heiress as it just started ripping the skin off. Besides making some members ill, they were treated to a form completely different from the heiress.

This form had a blonde bowl cut hairstyle, and a shirt covered by an overall carpenter pants. The copy's eyes were demon red and it was holding a butcher knife at its weapon. It had an insane smile on it as it brandished it wildly at the serious heiress.

"Now it begins..." Hiashi said to himself as he looked at the beaten form of his second daughter. He advised against using such tactics when he began training her. Nowadays, she kept using it against her sister every time he made them fight.

He briefly considered that someone was training her outside his authorization, but dismissed it and chalked it up to a personal choice.

As he focused on his eldest daughter's fighting form, he could already see the bad habits that weaken the form of the majestic Hyuuga clan style that they were feared for. If she and her sister could only break those habits, there wouldn't be much criticism from him and more helpful tips. His teacher did the same way with him and his...brother and they turned out to be prodigies of the clan.

"My skin is shed! I don't have to act like you anymore!" The demon snarled as he lunged toward a waiting Hinata.

Gouto nodded in confirmation as his mind pinpointed what this demon was. The dark thoughts of the girl must have incubated this demon from its weakened state to what it is now. He was surprised that there were demons like this still remaining, but if Victor of all people can survive for a millenium and a half and still have a physical body to boot, then things like this could happen.

"As I thought. This one demon is rare because it has been rarely seen since before the Yatagarasu's founding nearly three thousand years ago. It is of the Yama clan, a Nightmare." Gouto spoke out to a listening Naruto and Ino. The fight that they were seeing was much like a dance, almost strike for strike were the two combatants making against one another. It was as if Hinata was striking a mirror that could hit her back.

Hinata only stood calmly as she watched her demonic copy try and lunge at her again with that dark knife of his. If that was his only attack, then he should be defeated soon. She wasn't playing any games at the moment, this copy tried to steal her life. Her thoughts gave birth to it, and now her body will end its reign.

Glancing at the beaten Hanabi, it gave her resolve a boost as the little girl only moaned a bit in pain from the dark piercing spell.

A sudden click in the back of her mind sounded as everything went in slow motion. The lunge of the copy slowed to a crawl and her observers were standing still as if time wasn't passing for them but her only. Her hands started glowing with a bright white energy as a whisper of an attack settled in her memories...

_'Use it now!' _the memory commanded. Not one to question a powerful voice giving her a gift, Hinata complied and said the name of her attack aloud...

What came next could only be described as incredible. To this day, no other records of this variation could be found.

"Jouho Soushiken: Hama!" Hinata shouted and she struck faster than even Hiashi could see. What he got a glimpse of was a large spark of white energy, something unheard of before, gathered in both her hands. She then flashed out of sight and struck her stunned doppelganger with so much speed, that spectral heads of an animal lingered for a few seconds before imploding in a bath of white light.

The demon only looked shocked before just disappearing in a pitch black light that was pierced by a delayed animal head before the light shattered into nothing.

Hinata could only pant in exhaustion as she collapsed on the ground. Her fellow clansmen rushing both her and Hanabi to the clan's medical housing for treatment. Hiashi only took a glimpse at the outsiders and ordered two other clansmen to bring them into his office. The pair struggled as they were taken away. Hiashi stayed for a while longer before leaving to attend to his..."Guests".

**X-X**

After Hiashi more or less demanded how they found Hinata, he recollected what both the blonde brat and the blonde heiress told him later on in the evening.

The dark thoughts of the elder heir was a growing battle in her mind before it materialized itself. Normally Hiashi would call it weakness in Hinata's part, but her struggle began while his brother was alive. From what they told him, she was three years old when the darkness began manifesting inside her mind.

How they found her was even more confounding. She was somehow spotted by the Yamanaka girl all dirtied up and dehydrated from being outside in Konoha's streets day and night without a soul discovering her until the blonde girl found her by chance. After they found her, she returned to the compound and the rest was still in his mind.

Somewhere inside his soul, there was a proud father who was beaming at her daughter's triumph over her self image of evil. There was however, the possibility of such thoughts returning and the Clan head part of his personality urged him to train her even more so against such an occurrence and he didn't know how. He could try meditation, but sometimes the most skillful monk would fall to the evils that the earth contained...

It then came to him in a flash of inspiration. The blonde swordsman was hardly flinching as he saw the doppelganger morph into its true being. What better teacher than him?

For now though, he had some research to do. Such as building plans and where the boy lived...oh, and monitoring which daughter recovered first from their injuries and exhaustion.

**X-X**

It was a few days later and somehow, a folder containing reports of the Hyuuga case and some leftover paperwork found itself to Naruto's coffee table. Despite the impossible act, it wasn't bothering Naruto that much. What was bothering him was something else... like something that was sure to screw with his day was forthcoming...

He was right on the matter when he came home from the academy later that day to a sight of builders, foremen and a stern Hyuuga head overseeing the construction of what looked like his living area.

The man seemed to know he was approaching and gave the boy the most impassive face this side of the Monument. It kinda unnerved Naruto out a little.

The the impassive monument spoke.

"You are charged with the safety, training, and well being of my heir as she stays within your living compound while the workforce adds value to this poor sector. I do not care how you maintain it after its completion, but you must keep it in enough shape for my daughter to sufficiently train her clan's style here. I highly doubt you'll be able to even understand the complexity of our sacred fighting style, so I will send a branch member every week to report on her progress."

"Wait..wha-" Naruto tried to interject, but a fierce glower from Hiashi killed any protests. His eyes took an almost frigid gaze as he looked at Naruto, as if judging him in every way possible.

"If you fail, not only will you feel my wrath, but also the wrath of all Hyuuga. Do not fail her, or me. Now, you are dismissed." Hiashi said with finality as he turned away from the paling Naruto.

As Naruto stumbled backwards in shock, he bumped into Hinata. The shy girl had several bags containing her belongings next to her. This simple fact drove home for Naruto as he realized he was stuck overseeing Hinata's progress and also had the piercing eyes of the clan head behind his back at all times.

Gouto was rather excited by the turn of fortune his idiot student had come across. He was looking for an excuse to train in daylight for months now, and here it was!

Speaking to himself (Naruto was still as a stone at the revelation.)

"This works in our favor. The contributions of the girl's father will allow us to train in daylight and even nighttime in your progress toward being a Devil Summoner...I wonder though if it is really worth it?" Gouto wondered to a depressed Naruto, who took his teacher's thoughts the wrong way...

He was excited as well to not being able to wait till darkness to do his training, but with a hawk like head breathing down his neck, would the reward damn him instead?

"What an adorable cat, Naruto-kun. What is it's name?" Hinata's voice asked, her eyes oddly shining with adoration. It gave Naruto some form of satisfaction as the alley cat that was his master started to sweatdrop heavily.

"His name is Gouto, can you hear him?" Naruto asked quietly. Hinata looked confused as if he asked a strange question, but nodded. Her confidence was slowly growing since the fight some days previous.

"Of course I can hear him, all cats do that sound don't they? Like a cute meowing sound, right?" Hinata asked and Naruto wondered if she could even hear Gouto's sighs of relief. It looks like Gouto was getting more and more visible by the second to certain people.

The adoring eyes appeared again in Hinata's eyes as Gouto broke out in a cold sweat and felt a chill in the air. Naruto could only snort in laughter as Hinata had an apparent fondness for black cats.

Maybe the Hawk-eyed clan head's "gifts" weren't so bad if he could see his teacher dolled up like a stuffed toy...

**This was rather long, but if you guys can enjoy it, then I'm glad.**

**Laters!**

**Terra Ace**

**Futurestamp ©: This was heavily edited. Lots of things were terribly executed, but were fixed up. Hope you enjoy!**


	6. Romance Hijinks Pt 1

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter Six

Romantic Hijinks Pt 1

Two months have passed since Hinata faced off with her doppelganger and it has changed her in big ways.

Slowly but surely, Naruto and Ino saw Hinata change from a shy and scared little girl to a very confident and talented kunoichi in training. That wasn't to say she was a complete change. She was still rather bashful to compliments given by their teacher, Iruka, and would always turn pink whenever Naruto would talk to her...and that happened quite a lot. Ino would always tease that the little heiress had a crush on the boy, much to the girl's embarrassment of being found out.

Sakura recovered quite nicely and she was back to her normal scheming and planning to get the Uchiha heir to fall for her charms. Sakura and Ino were already at war again...Sakura kept quiet however, at Ino's worried face when she opened her eyes that day at the school infirmary. It made her glad to know she still cared, even if it was buried in their rivalry.

Naruto gradually saw changes to his apartment complex over the two months that the workers were remodeling the grounds. They certainly improved the place, that was for sure. Some passing citizens marveled at the obvious improvement to the place...while wondering why did they choose here of all places.

When they finished in late February, Naruto decided to inspect the improvements to his apartment complex, and he couldn't help but be impressed at how the workers transformed his home from a dump to a beautiful small complex complete with a courtyard and a small concrete wall around the perimeter of the home. He was practically living in a small upper class civilian home with training grounds and dummy posts instead of fountains and private pools.

He looked to his right and saw a formidable training area that they built for Hinata to practice her style. Naruto could see that they took great care in building it per orders of the clan head, Hiashi Hyuuga. Although he felt that giving a training ground to his eldest daughter was a strange attempt at showing love or affection...but what did he know?

To his left was a makeshift dummy training course, to which Hinata allowed him to train to his heart's desire, something which Naruto was glad for (and to an extent, Gouto). Naruto would often practice his stances with the supervision of Gouto-sensei, and Hinata often watched along with Ino in the afternoons. Unknown to Naruto (and the obvious notice of Ino and Gouto), Hinata tried very hard to synchronize her daily training time along with Naruto's own, much to Ino's amusement.

Gouto was delighted to see these improvements happen, as he was afraid of Naruto's progress stagnating if he only relied on stance training. Even if Naruto didn't notice, Gouto saw great improvements in his student's efficiency in his swordsmanship.

For example, since Naruto has began training in the early mornings and early evenings, his progress using a sword has doubled and he could now decently wield it without stumbling. He still required a bit of work, but he was no longer just hoping to swing it wildly and hope for victory. He now had a few techniques to use out in his adventures against the demon population of Dark Konoha.

As he looked toward a certain dummy that was split into two, Naruto smiled as he remembered when his teacher started training him on the Axe a few weeks ago. He was told that training in both the sword and the Axe would give him near superiority over his specialized sword. Naruto couldn't wait to master it and even now he was still as dedicated.

His apartment got a makeover as well. Some of the workers were impressed at how the exterior of the building was hiding a modern home and were angered in a professional and artistic sense that it was hidden for so long.

After word spread of the gem in the sludge, the workers decided to bring it out of its shell and into its deserved glory. The walls inside Naruto's home and outside the complex were repainted to a more vibrant white instead of the rusty red. It matched the walls of the complex and it was an impressive sight when they rebuilt the perimeter and redid the tiles on the roof to give it an incredible beacon of hope to the surrounding homes of the impressive building.

Thanks to Hiashi's generous donations, the place looked rather classy for a complex set in the edge of the poor sector. Any passerby would say that Naruto's home was part of the middle sector of Konoha's population instead of the beginning of the poor sector.

**X-X**

Naruto had never seen a happier cat as Gouto toured the area for the first time. It was as if the cat was visiting a place of his past as he would stop for a moment in a certain area before moving on.

Shaking his head, he got his schoolbooks and empty scrolls for writing before walking out of his apartment to a waiting Hinata, who chose to walk with him to the academy nowadays. Usually, Ino would walk with them, but sometimes she was seen walking with other civilian ninja hopefuls or in a competition with Sakura over some crazy Sasuke related thing.

When the duo arrived in school, they passed by the busy students putting up banners and streams for the year's graduating class. Every May was the final month for the upper class students of the academy to enter the service of the Hokage's Shinobi Corps. Shinobi were the names for the earliest ninja of the newly constructed Konoha and the term Ninja was adopted by the future generations. They were the same definition, but it seems when one identifies expert Shinobi, they think Ninja.

Hinata was quite overjoyed when she learned that her cousin Neji was selected to be the graduating Rookie of the Year. She always mentioned that even if he was a relative instead of a full-blooded sibling like her sister, she always treated him like the older brother she never had. Naruto did notice that she had a hint of sadness whenever she mentioned, as if something wasn't right with her description.

**X-X**

Like all Hyuuga, Neji was very calm, very serious and would practice his family's sacred moveset for hours on end.

However, he has one belief...a belief shared by both branch members and main house members...

He believed in fate controlling every move, every reward and every punishment.

So naturally, he believed that his reward of the "Rookie of the Year" title was only due to the cosmic forces gifting him for his servitude to the laws of fate.

He also saw his punishments of obeying the laws of fate every day of his life.

Neji Hyuuga was in lifelong service to the main house of the Hyuuga clan. He was their soldier, servant and in Neji's belief, an expendable member of war for the main house's use.

As with all Hyuuga, he took every assigned duty with complete seriousness.

It was his turn to obtain the report from the training area that the Hyuuga clan head built for the clan heir Hinata. Always silent aside from affirmation of his orders, he was internally seething about the obvious preferential treatment that the heir was shown daily.

It all began with his father's sacrifice to pay for the folly that the clan head committed against the diplomatic envoy from the Lightning village. He, like everyone not involved in the crisis, wasn't told anything else other than a mistake was made and that their clan leader was involved. What he found repulsive was that they just used his father, the clan head's twin no less, to give a free pass to the clan head, who wasn't even honorable enough to even mention his twin's sacrifice. For that act alone, Neji privately damned him to hell forever.

He couldn't lash out at the head in any way however, the _mark_ would see him turned to a vegetable in an instant.

Neji shook away his cropping memories, he had a duty to attend to, and thinking on these things were not part of it.

**X-X**

As Neji was walking down the main road in the poor sector, he had to wonder if he got the wrong address. It was his first time, but he was expecting a high class area...not a slum. Still...orders from the clan head himself couldn't be wrong.

Looking at the written directions from a fellow branch member who got the report before him, he was glancing around the area. He saw the area full of raggedy clothed children of the orphanage running around and playing their little games. From what he read in his academy class textbooks, Neji learned that this was a promising middle sector before the Kyuubi, strongest demon of the nine who roamed the world they knew, attacked and turned this place into a desolate land. He was thankful that it was defeated by the fourth Hokage some eleven years ago.

He was a little surprised when he approached the training area. He expected a wall encased mansion with fountains and fancy gardens like in the main house grounds. Just to be sure, he activated the Byakugan, a special power granted to all Hyuuga to observe the interior of the place and was further surprised at his observations.

He was watching a humbly built dojo training ground with a concrete fence circling a good amount of land with a training circle on one side and dummy posts on the other side. The building seemed to be an apartment complex that should have held fifteen people or families. Instead, he could see a lot of dark windows and no occupants. On closer inspection, he could see that the windows weren't wiped clean in years and not a single piece of furniture was present in the first floor rooms when he used his clan's gifted eyes to inspect the area.

Knocking on the oak doorways, the same type of doorways that he could recognize from the Hyuuga main lands, he entered to see exactly what he saw ahead of time except for one thing...

A girl, with long flowing red hair and a dress that shows her outline but does not hug her form. She was busy looking at the sky and had a bored look on her features. She looked a little older than he was but for a civilian, she was certainly a high class noble's daughter.

What was she doing in a terrible sector like this? She looked like she belonged in high class territory of Konoha's elite!

Nevertheless, he had a mission to do and the beautiful girl above him on the second floor wasn't part of it.

Remembering his earlier reconnaissance of the place, Neji planned to walk up the stairs and knock on the only room of the building that had furniture inside and was surprised to see that the girl was next to the door he was walking to. The girl didn't seem to pay him any attention as he walked past her, but his eyes couldn't help but roam over her form before a blush appeared on his face as he looked away.

Kushina was initially startled that this boy could see her, because the girl with the same eyes could see only Gouto and not her. She could also see his cloudy eyes roam over her body, she was flattered but he was just too young for her. Not that she could even attempt something at this anyways, as she was for all reasons and explanations, dead.

The boy didn't know that though, but before she could say something to him, the girl arrived to the door and greeted the boy.

While Naruto allowed a room for the girl's things to be put in. The girl, Hinata, she reminded herself, spent most of her time in Naruto's home. Kushina got her kicks by pointing out to Naruto or Gouto about her apparent crush to either of them.

Gouto only hummed and mentioned something about the mysterious 14th and a name. "Nagi" was what he murmured whenever she talked to him about it. Naruto on the other hand, looked clueless. It looked like he didn't understand the implications yet and looked totally lost whenever she mentioned it.

As they were talking, she could over hear a strained politeness on the boy's voice and a stoic look as he listened to a happily faced Hinata as she talked about her training and her life. Kushina just knew that the boy wouldn't report on her miscellaneous words about her life and her inquiries about the boy's health.

She looked like she was treating him like a cousin or brother of sorts and the boy did not respond to any the questions that she asked about him. The boy saw her as a master to him and would not respond outside of commands. It was really sad to Kushina.

As soon as he bowed stiffly to Hinata and left, Kushina could hear Hinata mumble something like "Neji-niisan..." before closing the door. A few minutes later, Naruto stepped out and had his training clothes, a simple shirt and shorts, on.

Alright! Time for some training!" Naruto shouted out before hopping over the railing. Kushina was at first worried that the drop would damage his feet, but he told her that he's been doing this since he was six years old and nothing happened to him. She mentally added 'yet' to the explanation and would still warn against such things, but he would just ignore her and do his thing with the railings.

As she watched her partner practice with enthusiasm, she had to wonder where these feelings of concern and fear for the boy had come from. She first guessed it was the magic of the contract with the boy, but for some reason...

The feelings felt...motherish? Was she mothering the boy?

Kushina shook his head, of course any woman would mother over an orphan. But...this particular orphan felt special to her, although the contract forces some feelings of protection to their masters. Still, she didn't think the contract had any effect at all on these feelings that she had for Naruto, so what was it?

She continued to ponder as she watched Naruto go to town on the training dummies.

**X-X**

Gouto was thinking on an entirely different matter while he sat on a pillow near the coffee table in Naruto's apartment. The lack of real life experience was troubling the cat in his bid to train Naruto in the ways of being a Devil Summoner. He considered sending Naruto back into the dark world of Konoha, but there would be no guarantee that Victor would be there to bail them out if Kushina was killed again in combat.

What to do...?

He was suddenly picked up by Hinata and he cursed his wandering mind for shutting down his danger instincts! The first time he was picked up by Hinata, he was treated to a rough bath by the girl while she hummed happily to herself. A pink bow that she acquired somewhere was then stuck on the cat's collar and let go after being dried off quickly and roughly. All the while, Gouto was cursing her very being for treating him this way.

He was boggled, how could the girl pick him up and give him a bath of all things? He was a three thousand year old spirit for crying out loud! Was it this mockery of magnetite called chakra giving him a corporeal form after all these years? He didn't understand, and he always analyzed anything he came upon so it ticked him off!

**X-X**

The next day Naruto met up with Ino as Hinata stayed behind at the complex to train her forms some more. The blond duo started to recognize each other as friends and were hanging out more and more, much to the dismay of Inoichi. He still believed that Naruto was out to bed his daughter despite the fact that they weren't in the hormonal teenager stage yet. They were just eleven but the mind of a father is very strange indeed.

As Naruto introduced Ino to his favorite hang out spot, Ichiraku's Ramen, the duo nearly stopped cold at a particular patron making jokes and being friendly with the owners and coworkers of the restaurant, a father-daughter duo named Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku.

It was Victor!

"V-victor!" Naruto stuttered out as the scientist turned around at the sound of his name. He was still wearing the getup they met him in before and he seemed glad that they were there.

"Ah! If it isn't the young apprentice and his fine mind walker courtship!" He began and laughed as both the blonds had no clue what they meant by 'courtship'. Teuchi Ichiraku did however and started laughing at the implication. Ayame, who read many romance novels when the business was low started giggling at Victor's words.

"Come, come! Have a seat and try some of this most delicious broth! I'm sure the young apprentice has tasted this wonderful food, but I don't believe that the young mind walker has had any?." Victor observed as Naruto ordered his regular while Ino looked unsure at the place.

"Could you add a bowl of chicken ramen for the young lady here? I would hate to see her starve any more than she is doing right now." Victor asked Teuchi who nodded and began to get started on the noodles. Ino tried to decline but the smell was so tempting and she didn't have any lunch yet so...

An hour later, Ino was sighing contently as her finished two bowls of chicken ramen stood in a row next to her. Naruto however had six bowls of various ramen dishes stacked up in a row and let out a burp of happiness. Victor was rather generous and paid the girl's two bowls and bid them farewell as he left toward the shopping district, but not before reminding them to tell Gouto that he was setting up shop in Konoha.

Naruto guessed he was going back to his lab, but he wasn't sure if it was the place they knew or that he somehow moved his equipment to this side of the dimension. After paying his tab, he made plans with Ino to explore the shopping district for sales and whatever Ino needed help carrying. As the duo left, Teuchi and Ayame looked at the boy and girl and saw what Victor was implying. They weren't dating, but if this kept going on, it just might happen.

**X-X**

As the village of Konoha slept, drank or partied the night away. The empty shopping district was witness to an argument of frequent and epic proportions...

Sort of...

"Damn your crown brained schemes, you stupid fairy king! How many times have I told you not to mess with the humans' love lives!" An irate female's voice shouted at another figure. Her appearance consisted of a green flowing dress and had sparkling, transparent wings on her back. Her angry blue eyes shined a ruby red with rage and was directed at a man, who wore the strangest outfit.

The man had large butterfly wings on his back and wore a red outfit with spandex on his legs. A belt containing a scabbard for a rapier hung on his hips and he wore a crown meant for a king.

"I couldn't stand by and watch their unrequited attractions to one another go without interference any further! I want them to share the love that we have! Argh!" The man winced as an angry woman's fist smacked him in the back of his head.

"They were brother and sister! Now they are stuck in a love spell and its all your fault!" The woman raged on as the man seemed to ponder on the new information.

"Oh my fair Titania, their forbidden love matches our own an-yeowch!" The man was hurting again as the woman, Titania kicked him in the shin and hit his head again. She looked even more ticked off than before.

"Idiot Oberon! I don't know what to do with you! Until you fix this, consider yourself banned from the fairylands! Hmph!" Titania said angrily as she chanted a spell toward a shocked Oberon before phasing away from existence. Oberon, not believing his wife's words tried to go back to the lands but Titania's echoing voice sounded in his head before he got an electric shock. The force of the current in his body was so great that he was launched into a nearby tree from being repulsed by the portal to the lands.

"I said NO!" The words were ringing in a dizzy Oberon's mind.

Standing up angrily, Oberon flapped his wings while shouting at nothing but the sky.

"You can't do this to me Titania! I am the King of the Fairies damn it!" He shouted in vain before hanging his head down. He couldn't even remember who he cast the spell on either!

"What am I going to do? Lousy queen...I was king first damn it!" Oberon grumbled before flying off to the distance.

Maybe he could find a nice tree somewhere...

**X-X**

The next day saw an odd change in the air of the academy as students were...holding hands? Now to Naruto, it wasn't such an odd occurrence. Holding hands and finding feelings for one another wasn't such a rare thing and Naruto was all happy for them...but half the school was doing the same thing at the same time!

He briefly considered going back to Gouto and reporting this...but he felt that the cat would look at him blankly and walk away making Naruto feel completely stupid, so that was out of the question.

As he passed the love fest in the hallways, Naruto entered his classroom to find even more of the festival inside. Kiba was kissing the hand of a civilian girl who was known to be a huge fan of Sasuke Uchiha. Worse (or better in Naruto's mind), the girl was enjoying it!

Even the lazy Shikamaru was in on the action! He was still asleep, but kept murmuring a girl's name in his breaths. At least Naruto hoped it was a girl's name, he mumbled too much to be sure...

Shino Aburame didn't seem affected by the whole thing, but Naruto could see a tiny, very tiny blush on the boy's cheeks as he gazed upon a blue haired girl in the front of the classroom.

It wasn't all so bad, Naruto wondered. It was extremely weird, sure, but this thing would blow over soon, as every fad did. Then the improbable happened.

Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka were dancing like newlyweds into the classroom, rosy blushes and stars were in their eyes as they finished their dance and Ino prepared to take a kiss from Sakura's waiting lips...

That was when Iruka showed up, and he didn't seem affected by the whole thing except...

The normally composed teacher was wearing a formal kimono and started telling the adoring lovey dovey students to begin a poem about their new found love lives. Now Naruto began to get freaked out, this was too wide to be a coincidence!

He escaped unnoticed into the hallways where he was backing away from the lovefest. He wasn't sure if they all stepped into an illusion, or maybe ate something for everyone to act this way...

As he was dodging teachers who patrolled the area (in couples, Naruto noticed), he rounded the corner where he knew the entrance to the school was when he bumped into someone taller than him.

"Ouch..." Naruto was all that he said aloud before being slammed into the wall by the person. Naruto started to glare at the person before noticing that the boy was alone and had Hinata-chan's eyes. They seemed to be on auto-glare as he began growling his words out slowly.

"If you are another boy who wants to hold my hand, kiss me, or propose to me, your life has just gotten shorter...much shorter..." Naruto's eyes widened, this idiot wasn't affected like him!

"Lemme go, idiot! I ain't one of them!" Naruto said to the boy whose eyes widened and let go of the boy and watched breathe precious air.

"Hm...sorry about that." The boy muttered and looked around for any..."admirers".

As Naruto got his bearings straight, he asked the patrolling boy, no doubt nervous of another confession by the male race.

"What the hell's going on here? Where did this all come from?" Naruto asked the boy, who was still looking for possible attackers.

"Now that I think about it, you've got the same eyes as Hinata-chan! Who the heck are you?" He asked the boy. The boy cringed at the girl's name before answering.

"You know Hinata-sama? I suppose you live in that training dojo in the poor sector then?" He asked of the boy, who nodded.

"I am Neji, and I don't know how this happened. I arrived to see many students cuddling up, kissing each other, and I think I saw a pair of girls twirl around like newlyweds on their first dance." Neji explained to a pondering Naruto. He wasn't sure, but this may be the work of a demon...he had to get back to Gouto-sensei!

"Did you notice anything else, Neji?" Naruto asked the boy, who shook his head. After saying their goodbyes, Naruto exited the school and back to his house. Neji, who didn't want to miss a day of his schooling, but didn't want to go back to being harassed by the males, went to the school's training grounds to practice his targeting skills. When he got there, he heard something sobbing from the trees above. The sobbing seemed both angry and sorrowful...it didn't help Neji concentrate that the being started ranting on things like "king of fairyland!" and "upstart queen!".

Finally having enough, Neji threw a kunai into a random tree to make the being stop. The voice yelped and began shouting at nothing about the earth throwing metals at him. The being also dropped to the ground, trying to find the patch of dirt responsible for throwing the metal at him before spotting Neji.

Neji's eyes widened as he took in the voice's origin and was equally shocked at the man's outfit.

Oberon eyes studied the boy in front of him. He wasn't affected by his enamoring field spell and that made his value rise before his eyes.

If he was proficient in combat, he was sure to be a perfect soldier to train!

"You, boy! What is your name?" Oberon questioned the boy, but got no response other than another throwing knife. He saw the boy's eyes widen in surprise as his rapier deflected the knife and into the distance.

If there was anything to brighten Oberon's day the most, let it be the groundbreaking of his finest knight in training.

"It seems that I should have a fun time breaking you in, recruit...have at you!" Oberon shouted out as he lunged his rapier at a waiting Neji.

**X-X**

While the battle was going underway, Naruto made his way back into the complex. Winded, he stopped in front of a waiting Gouto and Kushina, who were enjoying the sunlight and light breeze. They were both surprised at Naruto coming in like he ran a marathon, more so than the fact that he was too early to be home as well.

"Gouto-sensei! Something strange is happening at school!" He said, out of breath. Kushina was instantly at his side trying help the boy up as Gouto waited for the boy to compose himself before asking.

"What happened, Naruto?" The teacher asked.

Finally regaining his breath, Naruto answered.

"Everybody's all...well in love! Everyone is holding hands, kissing each other and doing things not teen rated!" Naruto explained to the cat.

Gouto looked at the boy and Naruto's prediction was coming true...he walked away, muttering about idiot apprentices.

"Maybe they just found love? Its nothing to be afraid of, Naruto-chan." Kushina explained to the boy. She kept alternating between kun and chan to her partner, something that embarrassed the boy sometimes when in the company of Ino or Hinata. Ino only raised her eyebrow in amusement...and in the case of Hinata, Naruto wasn't too sure why he was embarrassed since she couldn't hear Kushina in the first place.

"But all of them, Kushina? In one day too? That isn't normal!" Naruto blurted out to a surprised Kushina. Gouto, who was almost to the door stopped at Naruto's additional tidbit.

"Just instant, you say? That does seem unnatural..." Gouto said aloud as he began searching his brain for demons that matched the things that Naruto was saying was happening at his academy.

He couldn't be sure, but the things that were happening at the school often belonged to the antics of a _pair _of demons...

"I wonder, were they paired in boy-girl couples, or were they all over the place Naruto?" Gouto asked the boy, who thought on the events. At least Gouto-sensei didn't think he was an idiot anymore...probably.

"They were all over the place, boys with boys, girls with girls and some boy-girl couples." He told the cat who nodded at the information.

"I see...I believe I have the culprit." Gouto paused before going into something that Naruto called "Lecture-mode".

"When in my travels with the 14th, we encountered a couple of demons who were married. This particular couple was always fighting and their fights were legendary. It was said that the denizens of the kingdom that they ruled felt the fights due to the erratic weather or changing climates around the castle they lived in. I believe that the demon causing this instant romance is the King of the Faries, Oberon of the Yousei clan."

"You said there were a pair of demons? Wheres the other one?" Naruto asked. Gouto nodded, his charge was sharpening his observation skills, little by little.

"Yes, you are correct Naruto. Oberon is married to the Queen of the fairies, Titania. However, both are very stubborn and their conflicting desires of the kingdom and life often bring about fights. It seems they were in the middle of another fight and Titania must have banished Oberon for some reason or another..." Gouto paused to form a plan to stop the stubborn king.

"I would say that you need to engage Oberon in battle in order to stop the spell, but Oberon has practically thousands of years of combat experience on you so it would be suicide. I do however have a plan to stop him."

"How?" Naruto asked. The cat only stared at the boy as he spoke.

"We summon Titania to deal with him."

Naruto had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well...

**Well, this is part one of my little arc. I wanted to get some more little misadventures and more characters into Naruto's life as a devil summoner before I get started on my first big arc into this story, which will begin in Naruto's genin years.**

**Now for some observations by me on the recent fictions popping up on the site's first page.**

**Whatever happened to original ideas or crossovers that have great potential? All I see nowadays is self-inserts, high school girls who have superior ninja powers while acting like total buffoons and "ask the (insert name here)" fics. OC's aren't my favorite things in fics because they just kill the story's integrity when I see a paragraph or two just describing the oc's hair or a name that doesn't fit in within the universe in which they are put in.**

**Self-inserting authors are the worst for me, they are either a sibling to the main character, a survivor of the Uchiha Clan, a hybrid of two main clans, a Jinchurikki (or however thats spelled), or just plain a god/goddess with the ladies/males.**

**If you guys are gonna have to do these things, don't make it half assed. The worst part is that when I read the first chapter and gaze at the reviews, I am appalled that the "ask the -insert name here- story" is hailed as very well written story! I mean seriously? A one thousand word story is considered to be the same as a well written one hundred thousand word story?**

**If you guys are gonna have to review these atrocities of stories, you guys have to stop lauding these kinds of stories as the biggest thing since sliced bread!**

"**This is a very good chapter! I can't wait to see what -self insert names here- does!"**

**Is this what the story criteria has fallen to? I certainly hope not.**

**Sorry for my little rant,**

**Terra Ace**

**Futurestamp! ©: Here we go, another improvement! Catch down the road!**


	7. Romance Hijinks Pt 2

Devil Summoner – Chapter 7

Romantic Hijinks Pt. 2

It has been about an hour since Gouto announced that Naruto would summon the Queen of the Fairies, Titania. How to do so, was another matter entirely.

Fortunately, Gouto had a plan. That plan however, needed Victor's help. Naruto was to go into the portal that lead into the dark world of Konoha. From there, they would need Victor's massive energy reserves to summon the queen and for Naruto to do a contract with her.

Naruto, dressed up in his dark world costume, stood ready in front of the alley leading to the Dark World of Konoha. He went undisturbed for the most part because the...festival of love did its job to take the attention of the local populace and therefore they didn't pay much attention to him.

After some words of encouragement from Gouto, Naruto and Kushina entered the portal.

**X-X**

It was there where things took an unusual turn.

Instead of landing in the somewhat familiar surroundings of Konoha's alleyways, Naruto and Kushina landed on the other side of the fence to find...a very lively forest?

"What the? When did Konoha become a forest?" Naruto asked astonished as he was sure that the portal lead to the other side of the shopping district. Instead, he and Kushina landed in a very lush forest. He once saw something like this in the woods surrounding the Monument.

Kushina was on edge. For some reason, they were not alone...Naruto must have sensed his instincts go on red alert as his hand was gripped on his sword by his waist. The forest grew silent with the unsheathing of Naruto's sword, for they knew almost nothing of their unusual landing spot. After a moment of silent tension, Naruto and Kushina suddenly heard a very haughty voice along with a swarm of giggling voices.

"Hmm? I see quite a rare sight!" The haughty voice commented as she said something quietly to the voices. A small and squeaky "Yes, your majesty!" sounded back proudly as the owner of the voice appeared in front of them.

It was a Pixie, but she had a kimono instead of a tight bodysuit. Naruto noticed it was styled more for combat than tradition, though it still had a flair for style.

"Ooh! What do we have here? A human?" The kimono wearing Pixie asked the two. She glanced at Kushina before gazing back at Naruto. Kushina felt that she was dismissed as not worthy of the Kimono wearing Pixie's time and for that she felt pissed off.

"So...what business do you have in the fairylands human?" The Pixie asked. Naruto was about to answer but Gouto's advice rung in his ear before they departed through the portal.

"_Never answer to a Pixie. When Victor sends you into the fairylands, only answer to Titania. Failure to do so will result in some very bad consequences..."_

So he kept silent. The Pixie however, seemed pleased at the silence. If anything, her happiness belied her growing lust for battle. The human's dismissal kicked in their secondary part of their rule...something that excited her to no end.

"Ahh...so you know our little rule! You must be here to see our queen...I don't know though. You don't seem to be worthy of our queen..." The pixie murmured before saying something to the queen in a high pitched voice. A strange language from the owner of the haughty voice sounded back and the pixie said something like a confirmation in the other language.

"Well now...guess you do have permission to see the queen..." The Pixie said in a false sadness. Naruto, not used to knowing when a pixie goes from mischievous to vulnerable, stepped forward before being held back by Kushina. Her eyes grew sharp and magic was faintly growing behind them.

"However..."

Naruto felt on edge...this wasn't going to end well...

"You may see our queen...after I have a little fun with you!" The Pixie said, her eyes going feral and her wings beating rapidly. Almost on cue, the bushes around Naruto and Kushina rustled in a frenzy. Naruto and Kushina stood back to back, ready to take on all sides.

"I have gotten full permission from our queen to exterminate you! I don't think you are worthy of her and neither does my men! Time to die, intruders!" The pixie said with glee as she whistled. A swarm of bodysuit wearing pixies lined up in front of her, ready to aid her in battle.

"I am the High Pixie, Captain of the 5th Pixie wing to Queen Titania! You have no chance against me! Attack!" The High Pixie shouted as the pixies began circling around Naruto and Kushina. Almost in an instant, Naruto and Kushina could feel the air pulse with magic as the Pixies started circling faster and faster around them. Naruto's combat instincts flared as he quickly thought up a move to get them out of here.

Unfortunately, he didn't see anything that would get them through unhurt...except...

Through!

"Kushina! Punch through!" Naruto commanded as he began to rush through the swarm. Any pixie foolish enough to get in Naruto's way met his sword through the body and flashed with a scream.

Kushina didn't have a weapon like Naruto's to try a stunt like that. She was grateful however, that she was constantly training by Naruto in either team attacks and being his opponent since Hinata's father built the training grounds for her. She has been able to begin using the widespread version of her Garu spell, a massive tornado perfect for these pests.

"You think you have a chance against me? Haaaaa..." Kushina began concentrating on mutating her spherical green energy spell into its other form. The Pixies however were divided into watching Naruto cut through their members and watching Kushina charge up her spell. It was too late however when they decided to charge the angel in an attempt to kill her.

Kushina finished charging her spell. Her eyes flashed a forest green as she chanted the spell to release the spell. Time seemed to slow down for Kushina as she saw the pixies attempt to reach her form with sharpened nails and teeth attempting to bite her to pieces.

"Winds of the thousand plains of the earth! Come to me! Magaru!" She shouted out and dropped the orb into the ground in front of her. For a second, everything was still until a light breeze and a glowing funnel of wind began uprooting the ground where the spell orb was dropped.

It began as a light wind, but the Pixies soon felt the wind shift and turn as it grew with intensity. It began messing with their vertigo perception as they were swept into the tornado itself. The wind was damaging as Kushina's magic began attacking the magical cores that made up the pixie's vitality and magical prowess.

The field soon filled moaning pixies bereft of their flight abilities and fighting spirit. They weren't all out of commission however, as a quarter of the large swarm stood menacing with the High Pixie. The fallen bodies of their own however, served to be an advantage to Naruto and Kushina as they kept hesitating when ordered to attack by the High Pixie.

"Avenge our fallen! Attack!" The High Pixie screamed out. The Pixies, afraid of direct combat began charging up their weakened spells.

Naruto gritted his teeth, while they were not the strongest of beings, a swarm of spells could be extremely deadly to the both of them. He doubted Kushina could even reflect over 30 spells let alone him, who was basically unable to resist even one.

As all 30 pixies threw their massive wave of weakened energy, a flicker of energy sparked within Naruto, and time stopped for him and Kushina. Both looked at each other and nodded, it was as if something ancient and bloodthirsty took hold of their bodies as Kushina began glowing with the energy of the Garu spell. Naruto in turn began charging his Axe and kept swinging around in a circle.

Almost as if a click sounded in both their minds, Naruto let go of his Axe and launched it toward the spell wave. In turn, Kushina aimed at the sword and used all of her remaining Mag reserves into the Garu spell she was casting and threw it with a strength she never knew she had.

In unison, they both shouted.

"_Zen Break: Mirror Reflect!"_

The technique was started by the sword gathering the energy from Kushina's spell and it broke into eight different pieces. The wind spell seemed to guide the broken pieces of Naruto's sword as it held them into an octagon shape. The interior of the octagon seemed to suck in the spells by the mass like a giant vacuum before glowing three times in a flash sequence. When the third flash passed, Naruto shouted out with Kushina trailing after.

"Reflect..." Naruto began, and Kushina finished.

"Fire!" Kushina shouted out after him. The Vacuum stopped sucking up air and in a tornado flurry, the mass of spells began firing out in random directions.

Naruto and Kushina watched as almost all of the enemies' spells returned to their stunned owners and watched with incredulity as the pixie grunts screamed in agony. The duo watched as their enemies either burst into flames with the reflecting spell hitting them or burst into wisping lights in the sky. It looked like a rain of flaming pixie bodies (which disappeared in a burst of light when they hit the ground) or a fireworks show.

The High Pixie was absolutely furious. All of those pixies she personally trained were defeated by them? She even had a few friends in that battalion! They would pay!

Naruto and Kushina were still looking for any more pixies until they heard an unholy scream come from above. When they looked up, they saw their leader heave heavily at them. She looked like she was hyperventilating or something.

"All of my soldiers...gone! You Will Die!" The High Pixie screamed out at the duo. She began charging a pure white energy, an energy even brighter than Hinata's strike. A large ball of energy began forming above the tiny being. When it got massive in size, she chanted loudly.

"Ancient powers that guide me...strike them with all the energy of the universe! Megidolaon!" The High Pixie screamed out as she bent back at the waist to throw the massive spell at the tired duo. Before she could throw it however, a loud solitary clapping echoed toward the battlefield. The enraged pixie looked toward the figure clapping as did Naruto and Kushina.

The Queen of Fairies, Titania was clapping and had a very satisfied look on her face.

"Stand down Captain...they have proven themselves worthy." Titania said simply. The High Pixie, however looked even more enraged.

"My soldiers! My friends! They were all killed by them! They must die!" She protested to the queen and threw the energy ball at the wide eyed Naruto and Kushina. Before Titania could say otherwise the spell was launched into the air and all Naruto and Kushina could do is look at it helplessly, their energy spent from fighting the pixie wave.

As the energy ball edged closer and their deaths even more so, Naruto and Kushina were shocked when Titania calmly flew in front of them and waited until the ball was nearby before charging green energy to her hand and backslapping the energy ball.

With a tremendous booming sound, the ball flew back at extremely high speeds toward the shocked frothing captain. Without even a scream, a large explosion rocked the skies of the fairylands and caused a flash that blinded Naruto for a few seconds. When it was over, Titania stood calmly as she stared at the blast site.

"Hmm...I suppose it was for the best. She was threatening to go rogue and usurp my throne..." She said quietly to herself. She then turned and had a happy go lucky smile on her face when she looked at the haggard looking duo.

"Well now...you have piqued my interest! What brings you here to the realm of the fairies?" She asked rather happily. Naruto noticed that when she began talking, life resumed in the forests with chit chatter and wildlife sounds all around them.

"We wish for you to come to Konoha and help us stop King Oberon, he has been messing with the villagers there!" Naruto pleaded with the Queen, whose cheery outlook grew darker with the mention of her husband.

"Oberon..." Titania said darkly and the sky over the fairylands mirrored her darkening mood. Her eyes flashed a ruby red with rage as the skies began clapping lighting with fierce thunder sounds.

"YOU IDIOT!" She screamed out and a blue lightning bolt struck a crater into the ground a few feet away from her. She didn't seem fazed from the crater creation, but both Naruto and Kushina groaned when wet dirt splattered all over them. After a while, the skies started to clear up as Titania began to calm down.

A few dark clouds splattered the clear sky told Naruto that Titania hadn't completely calmed down yet. She only said very calmly to the duo in a fashion that promised great pain to the target of her ire.

"Take me to him...now." She ordered and began glowing in a forest green color. Naruto felt energized and concluded that Titania was healing them.

Naruto was a little worried though, his sword shattered into eight pieces with that insane move he and Kushina did and he didn't know if it could be repaired...

What was he going to say to Gouto-sensei?

**X-X**

After being gripped by Titania's soft but firm hands, they pair saw a bright white light and found themselves outside the portal that usually lead into the dark world of Konoha.

"My presence must have disrupted this portal's original destination to lock into my magical signature. It should stop locking into my signature soon so the hidden fairylands will soon again be hidden. Now, it is time to find my foolish idiot of a king..." Titania said quietly and waited for Naruto to begin moving.

**X-X**

Oberon was having such fun! Never so recently has he had a recruit give him this much trouble or resistance! He wasn't heavily winded himself, but the frequent dodging by the boy's precise strikes kept him a bit winded. His opponent was really tired, if his heavy breathing was any indication. Those white eyes fooled him into thinking he was a blind man trying to foolishly aim at such a quick swordsman like himself, but he was proven wrong!

He only had to subdue him now and his training will begin! Such potential will not be missed!

"You have fought well, warrior. Your attacks have even had me on the edge of defeat a few times! However, your time is over. You will be bonded as my page in training for the foreseeable future with this final strike!" Oberon shouted as his rapier glinted in the sun.

Neji was breathing heavily, he had never seen an opponent drive him into the edge like this before! He shall not have to face defeat, the fates have not decreed it so for him! All he needs is an opportunity, an opening...

"Now, its time for you to yield!" Oberon shouted as he thrust his sword at Neji's head. Neji waited...waited...

His opportunity came when his opponent was forced to pull up when an orb of homing green energy followed the winged opponent. His opponent skillfully dodged the ball of energy as it flew harmlessly above them and dissipated into a harmless wind funnel.

Oberon knew that spell only came from one person, and one that he both admired and feared. He looked all around and found to his horror that his wife returned to this realm and was extremely pissed off. It didn't take a genius to see that her target of ire was most likely himself...

This wasn't good...

"Ahhh...Hello my dear Titania..." he started out shakily, as if trying to cover the fact that he tried to conscript a boy in front of her sight. His attempts at changing the subject only served to make her angrier.

"You are in big trouble, idiot king...you made your banishment from the fairylands multiply infinite-fold!" Titania growled out as she nearly broke the sound barrier flying toward a fleeing Oberon who was shouting apologies to an enraged Titania.

Neji only looked on at the distraction, he was almost ready...he wasn't sure if he could pull it off, but there was no worthier target than this flying fool in front of him...

**X-X**

"Haaah...haaah...it looks like I lost her..." Oberon said quietly before lurching forward from several points on his back searing from pain. He turned slowly to see his target knight jabbing him repeatedly all over his body while he was shouting things like "two strikes" and "eight strikes". True to the boy's words, he felt several spots on his body get hurt equal to the number of strikes he pronounced.

"64 strikes! _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" _Neji screamed out as his hands went into insane speeds hitting Oberon's body with rapid precision.

Titania slowed down to see her husband being completely devastated by his earlier opponent and saw what Oberon did in him. She smiled...he would be a great protector of the fairylands if he could only be persuaded to her cause...

When he came into age... She began to swoon. She would have to wait till then!

First and foremost however...she needed to win him over to her side!

"My thanks for stopping my irrational husband. He has been causing much trouble!" Titania praised the stoic boy. The boy could only breathe heavily as Titania picked up the mangled form of the fairy king and began flying away before being abruptly forced to let go by the beaten Oberon. As Oberon's body hit the soft grass, he began picking himself up and crawling back to a stunned Neji, who was shocked that an opponent could move after being hit so many times.

What confounded him even more was that the beaten Oberon was laughing as he crawled toward him, a soft green light enveloping him before enveloping him as well.

"It...looks...like our...pact...has bound us!" Oberon gasped out. He was smiling all through the pain, even though a trail of blood from his mouth was clearly showing. Neji was confused, what the hell was a pact?

"You...don't know what a pact is? Aren't you a Devil Summoner?" Oberon asked, his breathing steadily returning. Titania, seeing Oberon's plan began to get angry.

"Oh no you don't Oberon! I know what you are trying to do! Reject this foolish king, boy! My superior skills will serve you better than this has been of a king!" Titania said with superiority as she looked upon the beaten form of the fairy king.

Oberon growled. He wasn't to be shown up, not now!

"Do not listen to this wench, summoner! Her skills pale to...hey! Where did he go?" Oberon asked out loud as he didn't see any sign of his partner near the school battlefield. Titania noticed as well and as usual, found blame in her foolish husband.

"Ooh! Now look what you did! You drove him away! He was to be your successor and my future hus- I mean, guardian in training!" Titania shouted out in ire at her husband.

"Oh where art thou, future king! Your future queen awaits you!" Titania shouted out in a falsified desperate manner as she flew high into the sky looking for her partner.

Oberon was ticked off, there was no way she was going to beat him at finding his partner!

"He's not even bound to you foolish queen! Hey!" Oberon shouted loudly. He was about to take off to the skies himself when he was stopped by a boy younger than his partner. He usually paid no attention to anyone else but his interests, but his presence screamed potential! He was accompanied by an angel as well. The Tenshi clan didn't involve themselves with people much anymore except for people with great destinies ahead of them...he had other matters though! He couldn't let that queen replace the bond he constructed with his knight in training!

"Wait! What about the love-fest!" Naruto's voice shouted out. He hid in a nearby tree grove because he didn't want to get involved in Neji's fight for fear of unwanted questioning by the boy. It was bad enough for Ino to know, he didn't want anyone else, let alone a boy with a serious lack of emotions on his tail questioning about stuff he didn't fully understand himself!

"Oh...you mean my spreading of budding romance? I suppose I can end it now..." Oberon said airily as if not hurt at all from Neji's final strike. It seemed he can recover more easily from usually mortal wounds than Naruto first thought.

Oberon only clapped twice into the air before flying away in the direction he believed his partner traveled, calling out "Summoner!" or "Master!" until Naruto couldn't see him anymore.

With the crisis averted, Naruto entered the school and to his classroom. He felt a chill as he heard nothing, only an eerie silence coming from his classroom. Curious about the silence, Naruto entered the classroom to find quite a sight!

The entire class was staring at the shocked Ino and Sakura locked in a deep kiss. Their horror filled eyes were widening by the second as their lips were still locked to one another. Their faces were so red, that Naruto thought that all their blood must have been on their faces.

Naruto would swear later on to Gouto that he went deaf for a few minutes due to the major pitch done by both Ino and Sakura's screaming about their embarrassing position.

Naruto shuddered, there was no damn way he would ever get in a situation like that!

…

Right?

Why did he have such a feeling of absolute dread?

_**Well, this is the conclusion of my little arc! Now I can get a time skip going on with the first big arc I've got planned out in the near future.**_

_**I need to get some kinks out of the finished arc plans, so I may go a little offline while I get to work.**_

_**I might go ahead and send up a build up chapter of Naruto's genin team, and try and tie up some loose plotholes I might have left behind.**_

_**So, I'll skim over the fic and my documents to look for anything unexplained aside from the obvious (E.G. Obariyon's MIA).**_

_**So, just review and tell what you think?**_

_**Its a little short, but this is what was left on the arc in my notebook, so just stay put for the next big adventure!**_

_**I also wanted to address somethings I found while reading my reviews.**_

_**It has been a popular belief that Naruto is held in high regard by the Hokage of the time at the beginning. Now while we like to believe that it is true, and it is to some extent, we cannot extremely believe that hes pampered like a prince regarding his treatment.**_

_**He is liked by the Hokage, but Naruto is no prince.**_

_**He was left to his own devices as a normal civilian attending the academy as a hopeful ninja but he does not hold sway over the Hokage in any way and he did not ask of the man in anyway.**_

_**He understood that while he was buddy-buddy with the old man to an extent, he knew that he could not just cry to the Hokage and complain about mistreatment by anybody. He also hinted that he took his criticisms of anyone with a smile and held it in.**_

_**He may have hated it in the manga about his mistreatment, but never did he once do something like complain to the Hokage because he had the mentality of being a man is to not rely on anyone else about certain things. He may have changed during the manga, but before that, he was a true lone wolf.**_

_**I'm getting a bit off topic here, so I'll just say my response to a certain review.**_

_**The Hokage cannot threaten a clan head because Naruto complained about it (not that he would do so in the first place). He likes Naruto, sure, but he is still Hokage, and village matters come first over a single individual. Even if the boy is a son of their greatest hero, or a demon containing boy. Out of all the Hokages, the Third may have been the friendliest, but he knew how to balance work and play concerning Naruto.**_

_**Laters!**_

_**Terra Ace**_

_**FutureStamp ©: The resurrected Chapter arrives! Hope you enjoy!**_


	8. Pathways

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Pathways

**X-X**

_**Well...I thought it was a funny title at first, but now I realize it was a poor attempt at making a chapter title. So, I will be changing it. Perhaps you guys would appreciate...or not, I'll find out.**_

_**Orig Title: TCBTE**_

_**New Title: Pathways**_

**X-X**

If you would ask a boy named Naruto how life was treating him lately, he would first stare at you as if asking who the hell were you, ask who the hell were you, and then tell you it was boring after some small conversation, preferably after a couple (or seven) bowls of ramen.

Naruto was bored, there just wasn't anything to do, not even a rogue demon jaywalking across the street or anything...

Three months have passed since Neji's was bound forcefully into a pact by the wily Oberon and clingy Titania, King and Queen of the hidden fairylands. With the royal couple in Neji's care (however unwilling), Naruto wondered who would rule the fairylands in their absence. He asked his teacher, Gouto, and in all his demonology glory, told him that they are still set to rule the lands themselves but are known to take really long vacations.

So with that out of the way, Naruto had to brace himself for the other piece of news that Naruto had been hoping to avoid since the chaotic battle in the other world.

His broken blade, sitting in pieces in his special closet.

When Naruto explained the fate of his broken sword to Gouto, he expected the worst from the cat. To his shock and surprise, the cat merely just shrugged and told him to take it to a blacksmith when he had the money. Naruto was surprised, but was relieved to see that his teacher wasn't angry.

What Gouto didn't tell him was that he already found the sword in his closet the day after Naruto stuffed it in his closet. While disappointed, Gouto wasn't angry at him, since it was a piece of metal. Granted, it was an old piece of metal, but swords forged by the Yatagarasu weren't so easily destroyed.

The revelation that it was broken due to a _hidden_ skill squashed any sort of anger at the boy, and he eagerly waited to see what other surprises his most surprising student would come up with next?

"In the meantime, practice using the Axe instead of the sword. As I've told you, mastering both will render you unstoppable when that sword is repaired and ready for combat once again." Gouto told him after Naruto's relief was etched on his face.

And soon, life went on until one day...

**X-X**

It was a breezy August day when Naruto was interrupted from his daily massacre of the training dummies by Ino, who wore a different outfit than usual today. She still wore her purple themed clothing, but her skirt was replaced by a set of purple pants matching her purple jacket.

The girl loved purple, Naruto thought. It still looked very fashionable for a blond like her. It had nothing on orange though!

"Hey Naruto! Got a minute?" Ino called out the boy, she wanted to talk to him today for something to do.

Ever since the school incident, Naruto has been very quiet about the whole thing. She tried getting him to tell her, but he has been rather tight lipped about what caused it. She was sure it was the work of a demon, but that was it.

It felt like something was off...and it involved her...experimentation that day. Yeah, that is what it was, an experiment.

With Sakura, her rival.

For Sasuke-kun, of course!

Right.

"What is it Ino?" Naruto asked, hoping not to involve the blond girl in anything deeper than where she was in already. The Dark World of Konoha adventure that he went in for a purpose and Ino stumbled into was possibly more than enough for the girl to handle, who had no combat ability for these new foes...

At least he had Kushina, but Ino had no such partner backing her up.

"I was wondering if you had something to do in the other world? Its been so boring lately..." Ino sighed. After experiencing that dark mirror world of their town, she couldn't wait to go again! Anything was better than just hearing the same rumors over and over again.

She never thought she would be bored of the same gossip, since she was always on the hunt for news. Just hearing about her shocking kiss with her rival was hot and embarrassing to the ears of the school, but thankfully it was silenced mostly because there were other gossipers doing embarrassing things themselves that they didn't want coming out. Ino quickly picked up these secrets and held it over the more open gossips, forcing their mouths shut and keeping her reputation intact, mostly.

So she was disappointed when Naruto shook his head.

"Nothing lately Ino, I've just been practicing my stances since Hinata's run in with her dark twin." Naruto replied. Even Ino felt it! The times were certainly slow, since usually a month would pass before something big like Oberon's romantic plots or Titania's quest to become Neji's one and only bride/partner.

The last he heard, Neji wasn't getting any sleep because of Oberon's and Titania's bickering. Thankfully though, their legendary side effects wasn't affecting Konoha's weather.

"Aw...guess I can't do anything about it then...Anyway, have you started studying for the graduation exams?" Ino asked, disappointed at the denial. She hadn't started studying yet, but the exams for their year to advance into Genin Graduation year was coming sometime next week. If they passed, it would only a short six months before they were placed into Genin class teams to become actual ninja!

Before, Ino wouldn't even dreamed about communicating with Naruto and would have classed him as a lost cause of ever reaching Genin, let alone him being the Hokage he used to always brag about. However, his added duties put the strain on him lately, making him become less vocal about being Hokage or being a ninja at all.

She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she missed the constant declarations sometimes...

"I've got some basics down, but I need to study more in order to take the test soon. I've got to pass it, or else I'll never be Hokage!" Naruto declared. Ino looked at him for a short while before smiling and giving him a thumbs up.

"Go for it Naruto! I'll be waiting for you on the top!" Ino said in a challenging tone. Naruto, who always loved accepting challenges from anybody, smirked and flicked his nose with his thumb, indicating that her challenge was accepted.

"Oh, I think its the other way around, Ino-chan!" Naruto said, laughing. Ino was surprised at the "chan" in her name, but her smile continued to shine as she heard the familiar crowing that Naruto was so used to sounding out.

The sound of two friends' laughter sounded throughout the neighborhood, giving a sense of peace in their neighbor's gritty lives.

**X-X**

It was late evening when Gouto appeared behind a studying Naruto. His challenge was overheard by the cat and he stayed silent throughout the whole exchange. He wondered how Naruto would take this new test that he had?

"Naruto."

The boy turned, startled by his teacher's voice.

"Yeah, Gouto-sensei?" Naruto replied, confused at the cat's presence. Normally, the cat would be either sleeping or doing his own thing in the living room of his apartment. His usually gaunt face seemed even more daunting tonight, too.

"Naruto, I've been watching you experience the everyday life of an up and coming Devil Summoner. You have been fighting demons that hardly anyone has even attempted to discover in the last century. However, it is time to make a final career choice." Gouto began.

"Career choice? What do you mean?" Naruto asked. Gouto, in all of his adventures with the 14th, never had to offer such an altering ultimatum to anyone, especially not to this boy.

"Naruto...you have to decide whether to become a ninja or become a full fledged Devil Summoner." Gouto paused to see the implications of his statement on the boy's eyes as Naruto gasped.

"Wh-what?" He shouted, shocked at cat's words. Gouto stayed silent until Naruto calmed down to begin again.

"I didn't say anything before since your training was always working in sequence with your studying at your school. However that sequence ended when you started learning things like loyalty oaths, and things like preserving the village at all costs. A Devil Summoner doesn't need things like that, only ninjas do. So I decided to offer you a choice. The time has come to choose a destiny that will define your path in life. Will you become a ninja for this village?" Gouto paused...something that unnerved Naruto.

"Or will you become a Devil Summoner fully?" He finished.

For the first time in a long while, Naruto was shaken to the core. How could he become Hokage if he wasn't a ninja in the first place? A Devil Summoner was cool, but his dream...

Still...and there was always that little doubt in the back of his mind, no matter how much he wanted to extinguish it, that being a ninja didn't automatically make him a candidate for Hokage. He could easily just fall through the cracks and become some no name ninja like so many others.

He also liked this new study, made only just for him! He, an orphan who couldn't even remember his own mom or dad, could become the world's newest Devil Summoner! Not just the newest either, but the first one in a really long time!

He was sure even if he chose to be a ninja, he wouldn't even have heard of things like demons, dark worlds, or even angels like his partner, Kushina.

So...

Which one?

He...didn't know...

"I-I don't know..." He said crestfallen, as his dream was on the line with this decision. Gouto frowned, he didn't know if the boy was ready for this, but he had to find out.

"Naruto, I have to tell you the reason I chose you to become the next Devil Summoner."

Naruto looked up and listened to his teacher's words. He always wondered why he was chosen to become a Devil Summoner. Surely the cat wouldn't involve himself with a regular human because he was cornered by a couple of demons, would he?

Naruto didn't think so, there must be another reason.

"When I died, I wandered the world as any normal cat would, just invisible. I would occasionally find people who could see ghosts and demons and I would judge to see if they were worthy of my teaching. Some passed and some didn't. Those that did became legends in the now forgotten history of this world. Those that didn't either became mediocre or infamous career criminals. There were some who got my instruction and became the local law enforcement of their respective towns of no real fame, but I'm getting off point."

"The point is, Naruto. Your decision in your career now will affect thousands, if not millions of people. Ninjas come by the dozen, and from my experience, hardly any of them amount to anything other than casualty numbers in foolish land grab wars by even more foolish rulers. Devil Summoners do not participate in these wars, but instead protect the world from bigger things...darker things." Gouto paused, before looking at Naruto with a more serious look than Naruto has ever seen before.

"I've noticed that the demon world has been recurring with activity lately within these past few months and I am concerned that if left unchecked, it will spill into this world. I have been training you in weapons training because its customary in both your desired occupations. A little unorthodox in the ninja aspect, yes, but basic in Devil Summoner training."

"This is a crucial time, Naruto. The path of the ninja utilizes stealth with silent killing of their targets. The path of the Devil Summoner is hired to take on the path of defeating rogue demons around the world and stopping the greater threat. Either way, you do not gain fame in either profession unless a war occurs."

Gouto sighed, now comes the hard part.

"If you choose one, you cannot go back and choose the other. If you choose to become a ninja, you will be trained fully in their ideals and methods. Your abilities as a Devil Summoner will stop right here and I won't be able to teach you any further."

"But why?" Naruto asked.

"From the rituals of the Yatagarasu, I am bound by tradition to only teach disciples the full ways of the Devil Summoner." Gouto replied.

Naruto looked to the floor in thought. He glanced to the right and saw his studies on ninja basics, which was his life for years before Gouto-sensei came into his life. However, looking at Gouto made him think on what he could have missed if he didn't become his student. He would never have traveled to another world and have all these crazy meetings. He would never have met the insane Victor, or fought in one of the coolest battles ever.

He would never have met Kushina...

Kushina...believe it or not, she was his first friend. Then Ino came along, and Hinata not far behind either. He wasn't sure of Neji, but he probably wouldn't even have heard of the guy!

What to choose?

"Can I think on this, Sensei?" Naruto asked. Gouto only rose an eyebrow, he had never been called Sensei out right. Just Gouto, or Gouto-sensei, never just Sensei.

"You may, but I need an answer soon. Goodnight Naruto." Gouto bid his farewells as he left toward another room in his house. Naruto, for his part, kept staring at the floor in shock and thought for many an hour into the night.

**X-X**

The next day was the one day in the week that academy students had the option of not attending. Those who attended got one on one instruction by their teachers or had full use of the academy library. Only the most studious students like Sakura Haruno and Shino Aburame were often seen on these days.

So it was a big surprise to see _Naruto _of all people in the academy grounds _studying_!

Naruto in reality, came to think. He only took his things to give away the illusion that he was studying, but in reality he was hard at work trying to make the decision of his lifetime.

Ninja or Devil Summoner? How could he choose? He loved both paths!

It didn't help Naruto that the librarian in charge of the library kept peering over his shoulder to see if he was actually making any progress. He only pranked the woman once, and now he was being watched like a hawk. She just needed one reason and he was out of here. He usually didn't come here, but he needed a quiet place.

_'Being Hokage is my dream, and to be Hokage, you need to become a ninja! But...' _Naruto rolled his scroll a few inches to the left to fool the librarian, who was flying over him again.

_'Being a Devil Summoner is something that I really like! I had so much fun meeting Kushina and fighting demons! Ino and I became good friends since we went to that world and Hinata probably would be a stuttering mess if she didn't fight her dark side! I don't know-' _Naruto was cut off by someone tapping his shoulder.

He was surprised to see Sakura behind him. A thin line was set in her mouth but her eyes showed surprise at his presence. Naruto mentally groaned that he forgot all about her ever since this Devil Summoner stuff happened so long ago.

When Naruto was nine, he discovered true beauty in the pink haired girl. She was very kind, rather shy but her actions showed her heart in the open. He had read somewhere that girls loved being asked out constantly so he began practicing on a picture of her for a year before trying out and hoping for the best.

Unfortunately, his had terrible timing as Sakura had nursed a crush on the popular Uchiha boy in the year he was practicing. You can say that it didn't go so well.

First she screamed a huge "NO!" at him when he first tried it out. By then, the poor lovesick idiot also read that if you fail the first time, you would try, try again until she accepted.

So for the next year and a half, he constantly asked her out on dates to her chagrin and embarrassment.

**X-X**

To Sakura, she didn't know what came over the boy!

Sakura just couldn't get rid of him! She just couldn't stand that this boy, however cute he may be, couldn't get the fact that she wouldn't go out with him! She was afraid that if she did go out with him and was seen (most likely she would've been), Sasuke-kun would move on to another girl!

She just couldn't let that happen!

She didn't count however, that his consistency in trying to get her to date him would last so long! Normally, most boys would stop after a try or two but not this boy...he asked her out on an average of sixteen times a day!

She knew it was this much because she actually calculated a week's worth of requests from him when Sasuke disappeared for a week and because she was bored.

Then one day, they stopped, completely.

She was grateful that all of a sudden, he stopped asking her out and she could fully concentrate on trying to talk to the silent Uchiha. She even had Ino fall off the radar a bit so it was all good.

Ever since he stopped acting like a buffoon in front of her and falling out of the scene, Naruto had apparently changed his demeanor. He still couldn't answer a history question or quiz to save his life, but his aiming and sparring skills were improving little by little each day until suddenly, he was on par with Sasuke-kun. That definitely caught her by surprise and she wondered if he would only just clean up his act and began taking the academy seriously, she might say yes to him if she was ever asked again.

However, that wouldn't happen even remotely soon, because she was sure that Sasuke-kun was inching closer to her charms! Just yesterday, he asked for a spare pencil to which she gave him with a huge blush on her face. First it was a pencil and soon a free spot on her calendar (she would clear anything on the day, damn her plans!) then a ring...oh the road of happiness was a only a date away!

Shaking her head, she focused on the task at hand. Naruto Uzumaki, the orange wearing dead last of the academy was studying on a day where he would normally be creating havoc for the village in some way or form! She just had to find out why he was here, surely he didn't think that studying now will help him pass the test coming tomorrow morning did he? A test that should have been studied constantly for weeks?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, a little disbelieving tone in her voice. Naruto mentally frowned, was he really that big of a stranger to these parts?

"Just studying Sakura-chan." Naruto replied, a forced grin on his face. Sakura only hummed a bit before accepting the answer.

"Masaki-san asked me to help you study since you seem to be struggling, so I came. Don't think for one second that I came here on my own will." Sakura told him her reason and her warning in one shot. It seemed that she wasn't all fan girlish all the time and took her studies seriously.

"Thanks Sakura-chan, but I don't need your help." Naruto said to her surprise. The boy who constantly pined for her affections was refusing one on one time with her? It seemed there were first times for everything, she guessed.

"Are you sure? This is a big test for-" She tried again but Naruto did something unexpected to her ever.

"I said I don't need your help!" Naruto shouted.

He just snapped at her, and that shocked her. She was so shocked, that she didn't even notice other people watching them as Misaki told Naruto to get out of the library and to never return without manners.

Sakura sighed, there were too many things on her mind to worry about a boy who was clearly frustrated for this test. Clearing her head of the annoying boy, she went into a nearby scroll shelf and picked out the next subject she was sure was going to be on the test.

Demon history...

**X-X**

After being kicked out of the library (his things forgotten), Naruto wandered the village and he was still troubled by the decision. He was so out of it that he didn't notice bumping into a figure until the figure called out to him.

It was Hinata.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, confused at the lost look her handsome friend was sporting. Normally, Naruto would be facing the world everyday with a huge cocky grin and probably a huge Axe on his broad shoulders. To see him so lost, so indecisive right now was so rare and sad to see.

"Oh...hey Hina-chan." Naruto greeted her. Hinata nearly passed out the first time she heard him say her name so short and affectionate and it still affected her somewhat if by the rosy blush on her face was any indication.

"Whats wrong? Are you feeling ok?" She asked, a worried look on her face. She was gathering groceries for her room in the complex when she spotted the normally happy boy walking with such a pensive look on his face. Normally, she would match this face with his next great prank like the one he did a month ago. Even the teacher, Iruka laughed at the sheer genius of the prank. The prank was considered to his very best according to Iruka as he carted a struggling Naruto into the detention hall.

"Ah...well...its nothing." Naruto hesitated before trying to dismiss his gloomy atmosphere. Hinata only stared at him before nodding and saying her goodbyes. She didn't like being dismissed like that, but too often had she been in that same state when she was nursing her wounds from her sister's beatings so she could relate.

"I see...well I'll see you at the complex Naruto-kun. I hope you find your answer to your troubles soon." Hinata said to her friend and left for the complex. Naruto had the feeling that he may have hurt her someway but he didn't think that she would be any help to his dilemma...

So he kept walking aimlessly, lost in his thoughts.

**X-X**

A few hours later, Naruto found himself in the part of town where the Monument was located at and found the strangest sight.

Neji was witness to Oberon and Titania having a shouting match in front of him. It seemed pretty heated as well.

"Idiot king! He is my partner on these days! Stop butting in!" Titania roared, her hands glowing with a green energy. Oberon however wasn't fazed and kept his hands on his sides while saying something calmly to the angry woman.

It didn't work at all on her anger and Titania started to overcharge her energy before throwing a punch to the surprised fairy king. Naruto, who avoided the whole thing saw Oberon flying uncontrollably over the skies before landing painfully in a group of crates.

As he was leaving, he caught sight of Neji watching Titania before looking to the skies for Oberon. He didn't catch Neji however staring at him as he left.

**X-X**

It was early evening when he returned to the street leading to his home and he still didn't find an answer to his problem. Summoner or Ninja? Such a hard choice...both would affect him and others greatly but he didn't want to go one without the other.

A feminine voice interrupted his thoughts and Naruto had to wonder if this was one of those chapters in his life where everyone significant to him has to talk to him about a life turning choice he is faced with?

As he turned to see the owner of the voice, he wasn't too surprised to see Ino near him. She often visited the compound to talk to him about going to the dark world or trying to talk to Kushina about various things. He didn't understand the things they were saying but he would bet his socks it was rumor, hair, and possibly candy related.

"Hey Ino, got a minute?" Naruto asked the girl, who nodded. Unlike Hinata, Ino seemed to be the only one who could see, hear and carry a conversation with the demons they encountered. Granted, only Kushina talked to her willingly but they spent quite some time talking about nothing at all. He thought she could help him with this little problem. There was always the fact that Ino didn't understand a word Kushina was saying, but for some reason, girls have their own secret language that they only understand...it was easy not to think about it too seriously.

"Yeah sure, lets go find a bench or something. My feet were killing me from so much window shopping!" Ino said with a laugh. The humor was contagious as Naruto chuckled a bit as well, he could completely see Ino doing just that.

A few minutes later, Ino groaned in relief for her tired feet as they found a couple of chairs inside the interior of Naruto's complex. As they were talking about their days, Naruto had the feeling in the back of his mind that he was avoiding the fact at hand. He was never this shifty on things not involving clearing his ass out of blame, why start now?

"Hey Ino?" He said, steeling his resolve. He needed an answer!

"Yeah?" Ino replied, wondering what was bother her friend.

"I'm kinda stuck on what to do..." Naruto began, but he noticed Ino looking lost on the conversation and decided to tell her from the beginning.

To say that she didn't see that coming was an understatement to Ino. The cat, Gouto, was giving an ultimatum to Naruto? She could see the hardship that Naruto was going through. She was always fascinated by the life of a Devil Summoner and she often was tempted to talk to the cat for training herself. It certainly looked more interesting than being a ninja...sorta.

But to choose one for the other? That was a really hard choice to make.

"I don't know what to say...I can't tell you how hard it is cause I know that I could never make the choice if I was in your shoes..." Ino said sadly. Naruto only nodded, he knew that it was a choice that he had to make.

"I always dreamed to be a Hokage...but being a Devil Summoner opens up new things that I never knew existed. I would still be a dead last struggling through all these scrolls if it weren't for all those meditation and perception exercises that Gouto-sensei puts me through weekly." Naruto paused, it helped that he could concentrate more because of those exercises. For that, and more, Naruto was grateful to the cat.

"Don't tell anyone this...but I've been having trouble reading before I met Kushina." Naruto admitted to a wide-eyed Ino.

"No way! How come you didn't ask Masaki-san? She helps anyone read, it is like her passion!" Ino exclaimed to a downtrodden Naruto.

"I tried that once. I don't know what was eating her but she said I was a lost cause about an hour into the tutoring. After that, I just stopped trying and kept winging it since." Naruto explained. Ino was shocked, Masaki-san was always very patient to her!

"How terrible! Does Kushina-chan help you read then?" She asked the boy.

Naruto nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, she helps me a lot. I don't think I've ever learned this much from anyone but her...and maybe Iruka-sensei." Naruto said happily, a spark of his usual shine poking through his voice. Ino would find out later (with a slight blush) that she actually waited for the shine of his normal self when they finished talking that night.

"If you need any help on anything Naruto, you can always come to my house." Ino said with a small pink twinge. Naruto on the other hand went a pale white at the mention of the house. It seemed that Inoichi hasn't been completely been removed from his memories. Ino thought to herself that she too would be scarred for life if her father raged against her in such a fashion.

"Thanks Ino, but this is probably something I have to choose on my own." Naruto said warmly to her. Ino smiled in response before getting up and stretching her arms.

"Well, its been fun talking with you Naruto. I really hope that you become a ninja, since the job would be probably a little dull if you weren't around!" Ino said with a laugh before walking off to her home. Naruto looked up at the sky and wondered, if he had more friends like that, would he be as troubled to make the choice?

He shook his head, maybe he needed to sleep on it?

**X-X**

As soon as he hit the pillow on his bed, he was out cold. Though he was out physically, mentally was another matter.

Naruto woke up to a dark place and he realized it wasn't his room. All he saw was flames...no, torches he corrected himself. A type of wood was in his vision range and he found that he was laying face first on the floor.

Getting up slowly, he looked around where the light of the torches permitted. He didn't want to alert anything that brought him here but it was for vain as he heard some type of language all around him.

The language seemed very familiar but he couldn't quite place it. The owner of the voice didn't seem to mind as it kept talking in the familiar language. A sharp piercing ring suddenly invaded his mind and began drowning the voice. The pain in his mind forced Naruto to close his eyes and suddenly open them up in shock.

When he looked around, he found that it was nearly dawn and he was back in his room. Kushina, sleeping in a bed next to him was snoozing soundly. Naruto would be the only one to know that Kushina mumbled in her sleep. Something that gave some sort of blackmail material on her as his mind thought mischievously.

Getting ready earlier than usual due to not getting back to sleep, Naruto stepped outside to meet the sun only to find Hinata already practicing her forms and he was surprised at her dedication.

It seemed that she was finishing up her stances and was surprised to see Naruto up and running so early. She usually saw him still snoring the dawn away until later in the morning.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun!" She called out with a smile. Naruto smiled back and Hinata could still see that he was troubled, but not so much as yesterday afternoon.

"Have you found your answer yet?" she asked the boy. Naruto shook his head and her smiled faltered a bit.

"No not yet, but I'm getting there!" Naruto shouted back. His answer brought her small smile up to full force and she saw a certain shine that wasn't there before.

As the two were talking, Naruto was being spied by another early riser. His teacher, Gouto.

He was thinking on the scene and he was starting to have second thoughts on the ultimatum.

He shook his head, this was one of the most important tests in each disciple's training and his answer would determine his future for the world...

As soon as he arrived at the academy, Naruto could tell something big was going on, but he just couldn't quite place it. When he entered his classroom, he finally got what was nagging him.

It was the day of the test!

"Yo, Naruto! I'm surprised you came here for the test, dead last!" Kiba said with a joking manner. Kiba knew that he wasn't so hot in the grading spectrum himself, but this guy did so bad, it was all too easy to make fun of him.

"Heh! I wouldn't be barking so much, I haven't seen you do nothing but sleep away in your own slobber!" Naruto shot back to a surprised Kiba. If there was one thing that Naruto was good at that Kiba knew, it was calling a bluff.

"Tch, I don't need to study! I'll get into the graduation year on pure guts!" Kiba said laughingly. His laugh made Naruto get more confident. If an idiot like Kiba is so confident in getting in, then he had nothing to worry about!

Well...except choosing between these two things.

Naruto shook his head, he had to focus here!

After a few moments of thinking about his dilemma, Naruto was shaken from his thoughts with Iruka-sensei entering the room with a stack of papers on his arms. Mizuki, his assistant, trailed behind him with another stack of papers. Naruto raised his eyebrows, that was a lot of paperwork!

He really hoped that being a Hokage didn't have all of this as part of the job!

At that exact moment, The old Hokage sneezed up a storm and wondered if all that pepper he put in his sandwich was to blame?

"Alright class, those of you who came must be here for one reason. You believe that you are ready to be part of the second graduation class. It won't be easy however! If you fail, you will have to wait an entire year before you try again, so I hope you have studied hard!" Iruka said his little speech as an attempt to locate the unworthy.

True to his attempt, he could see a few of them fidget and stare at their desks intensely. A few of them, like his secret favorite, Naruto, could see the fire in their eyes. These individuals were possibly the most ready for this exam.

As soon as he had his friend Mizuki pass out the tests, he brought out an hourglass from his desk and waited until each set of eyes were on him.

"You will begin this test..." He turned over the hourglass and slammed it hard on his desk.

"Now!"

A shuffling of papers and scribblings told him that the test was underway. Some will fail, and some will pass. He hoped that each of them could make it to his graduation class, but he knew that it just wasn't so...

**X-X**

Naruto looked at his paper and tried to concentrate on it, but couldn't. That damn ultimatum was on his mind, and he really didn't need it right now!

_'Argh! Ok, enough thinking about it! Question 1: When you switch with a nearby object, you are using what?' _Naruto read the question. Filling in what he thought was the right answer he kept reading each question, but they all looked the same to him!

_'Question 2: When using a shuriken, you throw with a chance to choose a single path...argh, concentrate!' _Naruto commanded his mind.

All throughout the test, Naruto was bombarded with semi-questions laced with his dilemma.

When Naruto finally reached the final question, he took a glance at it and hummed softly.

_'If you are what you wanted to be, what would you do with it?'_

Naruto glanced at it and wondered what that meant? Was it a "what would you do being a ninja?" kind of question?

He shrugged. Filling in to the best of his abilities, he was surprised that it took so long to answer. It was nearly the end of the test!

"And...stop!" Iruka announced a few minutes later, picking up his hourglass. A few of the students groaned in relief and shook their tired hands. Others just looked confident, and a few of them looked sick for some reason.

Iruka could see some of the clan heirs looking like a mixture of the confidence, sickness and tiredness that the others felt. Naruto, even though clan-less and an orphan, looked very troubled for some reason.

He would have to talk to him after class.

"Alright class, this test was your only assignment for today. You may leave now!" Iruka said cheerfully and watched the students get up and began leaving the room.

"Ah, Naruto? Could you stay behind? I have to speak with you." Iruka called out to a surprised Naruto. Some of the other students looked back curiously and others snickered while muttering about the boy being in trouble.

As soon as the room was empty save Naruto, Iruka and Mizuki, Iruka asked his assistant to give them some privacy.

Surprised, Mizuki nodded and took the finished tests off the desk. He was authorized by Iruka to grade the tests ahead of time as to make it easier on both of them.

Naruto wondered what his teacher wanted, but stayed silent as he waited for his teacher to begin.

"Naruto, is there something wrong today?" He asked.

Naruto thought about whether or not to tell his problem. He didn't understand, who would? Perhaps a little hypothetical wording is in order.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"What would you do if you had two things you really liked, but you could only choose one?" Naruto asked carefully. He doubted Iruka would get what he was hinting at and he unknowingly got it right.

Iruka's eyes widened in understanding. Was it that this boy was torn between...girls? He mentally chuckled, it looks like his favorite student was torn between two girls!

Looking back, Iruka could see that young Naruto was very friendly with the Yamanaka heiress as of late, and the boy may have been torn between the boy's long time attraction to the pink haired Sakura and the platinum blond Ino.

Ah, young love!

Unfortunately, Iruka hasn't had much luck in that department either, so all he could do is wing it and hope for the best.

"Well, first you would have evaluate what suits you better. The new thing, or the steady thing? You could always find out new exciting things with the new choice, or you could work on the current choice and you may find happiness there." Iruka explained to a confused Naruto. What the hell was that? It seemed like he was giving him love advice instead of career advice!

"Hm...ok, Iruka-sensei. Thanks for the advice..." Naruto said with a smile. It might've been a little fake, but he could see the teacher's good mannered attempt.

"Anytime, Naruto. You can always come to me for any advice you may need." Iruka said, proud that he got through to the lad.

Naruto sighed, but thinking back on the teacher's confusing words, he could see some type of answer to his dilemma.

Gouto-sensei did say that he could reach Hokage by being a devil summoner...but being a ninja was almost a sure fire way there too!

Maybe he needed another night on it...

Was he ever surprised to hear that Gouto lead him to the living room to declare the one thing he did not need to hear this evening!

"Naruto, I need an answer by tomorrow morning." He said bluntly.

Naruto had a surprised look.

"W-why?" He sputtered out. Gouto looked away, he knew this was part of the test, but he didn't like lying to the boy sometimes.

"I'm running out of Magnetite to sustain my form and I need to return to the mountaintops to restore it. I need to make sure if returning here is worth the recharge or do I just stay there and move on." Gouto said smoothly. He was sure that his student didn't know that he was lying. There was no such thing as running out of Magnetite here! Chakra, as the natives called it, was diluted Magnetite, but still Magnetite.

Naruto gritted his teeth before mumbling "Good night" and departing to his room. Gouto felt that he might've pushed it but remembered that a certain recent pupil acted the same way.

Gouto smiled to himself, he had nothing to worry about. Besides, what was going to happen? A hybrid ninja summoner? Give him a break!

**X-X**

During the night, Naruto was turning and moaning as he struggled in his dreams. Kushina, unaware of the dilemma, was snoring softly by Naruto's side.

He continued struggling before mumbling something and keeping still. He looked like he found his answer to his problems as well.

Now, how did that happen?

_**-In Naruto's dream scape-**_

Naruto looked around, it was that room again! However, he could see that Kushina was there with him and looked just as confused as him. The piercing ringing sounded all around him again as Naruto tried to find out what was the origin. Kushina however, tilted her head as if understanding the ringing. She nodded a minute later and turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, they ask why can't you answer them."

Naruto looked surprised, she could understand it?

"You know what it is?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yes, this "ringing" is the voice of the Yatagarasu. They looked perplexed that you couldn't understand them." She answered.

Naruto nodded, and began speaking out loud.

"I can't understand you, I can only hear a ringing!" He yelled to the empty room. The ringing, as in response to the boy's shout began warping and lowering until he could hear a voice.

"**Hurrum! I see...that was the problem! I apologize for the ringing, young disciple."**The voice rumbled all around the boy. It was as if the room was the originator of the voice.

"Uh...no prob!" Naruto answered back.

After a moment, the voice rumbled again.

"**I have been waiting for you to take the oath of the Devil Summoner for some time now. Are you ready to take it now?" **The voice asked the boy, to which Naruto hesitated.

"I..." He faltered, he still didn't have a definitive answer to that yet. The hesitation was made apparent to both the voice and Kushina as the boy kept stalling.

"**Hm? Are you faltering in your resolve, disciple? Has Gouto made an error in his choice?" **The voice boomed. Naruto began to protest in defense of his cat teacher but Kushina beat him to it.

Her voice was a language that Naruto never heard of before. He wondered if this was what Ino heard when they were in the dark world?

After a moment, the voice rumbled once more.

"**I see. The Tenshi must have their reasons for pushing such a fate on to this world...You boy! Your partner mentioned that you were to become a shinobi?"**The voice asked.

"A what?" Naruto asked, confused. He was sure that he heard that word somewhere...probably.

A whispered word from Kushina reminded him where he heard the word. Naruto nodded to the voice and soon it rumbled once more.

"**Interesting...with the full support of the Tenshi in this boy's fate, this is a most unusual request from them..."**The voice wondered to himself before all went silent.

A few moments later, the floor around Naruto and Kushina glowed with an immense power. Naruto correctly guessed that the owner of the voice was this room itself!

"Woah!" Naruto gasped as the light began blinding him. The voice began distorting around them as both he and Kushina began losing consciousness.

"**You will be...ooonne...of a ...ki-"**

"**Go foorth...sh...il...su..."**

Neither Naruto nor Kushina heard anything else as they blacked out.

_**-In Naruto's dream scape- end-**_

While this was going on, a faint light was emanating from both Kushina and Naruto. A few minutes later, a light bright enough to act as a split second beacon from an outsider's view shone in the room and out of the home. The patrolling ninja near the border gates looked for the source, but would write it off as a tag explosion gone wrong. It wasn't uncommon for aspiring ninja to make their own explosion tags in order to save money so they wrote it off easily.

**X-X**

In the morning, Gouto was expecting the answer that would help his student become the defender that this world so desperately needed. If he chose to be something other than a Devil Summoner...the world was doomed and _his _prophecy would be fulfilled...

"Hey, Gouto-sensei!" A very loud voice sounded toward the room he was in. Gouto was, to say the least, shocked when he saw a very different looking Naruto walk into the room. Kushina trailing behind him, as if knowing a secret that he didn't.

The outfit was almost like a blast of the past to the cat. Only a few people wore this particular outfit and the only one who could wear this without being outright destroyed by cocky demons was his old student, the 14th!

A black cape with a very dark, almost a black color mixed with a dark orange interior flowed as a cover to the sharp looking black suit and pants the boy was wearing. The gunmetal gray holster held both a revolver and a brand new looking sword scabbard complete with a new sword. He didn't have a hat, but Naruto's spiky bangs seemed even spikier with a black bandanna over his forehead. A new holster was added to the right leg and was armed with kunai throwing knives and a pouch below that for what looked like shuriken.

He looked like a cross between a ninja and a summoner!

Gouto twitched, there was no way they would?

"A really loud voice told me that I could be both! How cool was that?" Naruto said happily. Kushina looked the same as she was feeling the cape and had a thoughtful look to her face. She wondered if she too could make a cape look great?

Maybe!

Gouto was astounded, but it seemed that the voices of the Yatagarasu hasn't completely disappeared from this world.

"If the masters of the Yatagarasu decree it so...then who am I to refuse them?" Gouto began talking to himself. If Naruto would have listened more closely, he would have heard more muttering and an utterly shocked cat mumbling to himself.

This was surely unprecedented of them. From all of his memories, the leaders were often stubborn in their ways, to allow such a difference of their ways must mean that another force was influencing them.

He looked to Kushina, who was absolutely delighted that she was wearing the cape that Naruto was just showing off. Naruto for his part, seemed to want the cape back and kept grabbing for it.

"I wonder what destinies are open for you...Devil Summoner Naruto..." Gouto said silently to himself, before jumping to the boy's bed and watching the spectacle between summoner and partner.

He wondered if Naruto was ready to handle the responsibilities that came with both a soldier and a summoner? He would have to be there, training and watching over the boy as he came over trial after trial the world throws at them.

To be sure that the powers that be did indeed speak to his charge, he traveled toward the special closet where he kept the broken shards of his old sword. To his expectations, the shards weren't there, only an empty spot where the shards and scabbard would be. He turned to see the newly repaired weapon at Naruto's hip, gleaming with a shine that usually wasn't there unless the sword was reforged.

Gouto smiled.

It would prove to be very interesting...

"Hey! Give that cape back, Kushina!" The boy yelled at a flying Kushina, who was laughing and took her tongue out mockingly toward the short boy.

Very interesting indeed...

**Well, here is what I call the end of the Prologue arc of this fic, and I've gotta say, this was tough to write!**

**The Second arc, or the First Chapter Arc, will be coming in a while, so please be patient as I get revved up for another challenge.**

**Reviews are very welcome, but the hits themselves give me drive to write even more for the interested.**

**I would like to leave you with the observations of the fanfic world. Namely – sensitivity to reviews.**

**Do you ever get discouraged that you have to bend to the will of the reviewer in a story that you fashioned for yourself? I almost fell prey for that once, but I thought to myself, if they wanted something that isn't mine, why don't they write it themselves?**

**If I wanted to write a story that had Naruto banging practically every woman that he met, I would write one!**

**So, when did this become the norm? Reviewers practically demanding that every romance story become a harem, do they have some kind of sexual charge out of it? When can a story be only a main pairing that believably comes to light with some hilariously funny mishaps with other female supporting roles in the background? I see stories that have great one on one pairing potential, but a random reviewer practically demands harem, and the story becomes an orgy.**

**Rather blatant display of selling out and spoiled child syndrome from what I've seen.**

**I know that some authors plan out harems stories from the start sometimes, but to see a declared pairing and a few chapters later, a poll for a third, fourth, or even fifth romantic girl pops up and I go "what the hell?"**

**Grab a spine, fellow writers! Harems are for harem stories, don't let your pairings become just another reviewer forced harem story!**

**Speaking of reviews...would it really kill you to change your words when making reviews? A prime example would be a certain users (coughdbzgtfan2004cough) saying the same thing over and over again, to the point where the reviewers'...review would be as much worth as a wooden penny!**

**That is all I've got for my observations, see ya down the road!**

**Terra Ace**

_**FutureStamp ©: I've reforged this chapter to be the best that I know you boys and girls deserve! Enjoy!**_


	9. The Great Demon Raid

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter Nine

The Great Demon Raid

Naruto Uzumaki was anxious. He was waiting for a certain letter telling him, in writing, that he either passed or failed a certain test a couple weeks ago. He was so anxious to find out the results that it took three cat scratches from his teacher to get him to focus on his renewed training.

Ever since the ancient tree leader's blessing to become both a summoner and possibly a ninja, Gouto has been upping his training more and more each passing day. Naruto was entranced to hear all about demon history from the wise cat himself and he briefly wondered why he found this much more interesting than his village's history. He guessed that this was much more fun to learn than some boring lesson of the village's urban development era.

His weapons training has gotten much more intense as well. No longer was he allowed to train and take a break as often as he could. Gouto had made sure to at least double, and on some days, triple his usual training time. Fortunately for Naruto, he grew accustomed to the cat's whims and did it without a word of protest.

He also apologized to Hinata about his cold dismissal to her when he was feeling troubled. He told her that there was no excuse about what he did and he even did a formal bow and all to the Hawk-eye head's pretty heiress. Hinata, touched by the apology told him to stand and did the most strangest thing...

She kissed him on the cheek and smiled before walking away.

Naruto, who had never been kissed in anyway, began blushing redder than a tomato.

**X-X**

When he met up with Ino during their week long break after the graduation test, he told her about what happened and she looked positively awed. She was so happy for him, to be able to become both things.

"Gouto-sensei said that in a few months, I'll be able to go into the dark world without the chance of being ambushed like that ghoul incident." Naruto said excitedly to the blond girl, who was rather ecstatic about the whole thing.

Perhaps she could visit again with him someday! She was so itching to go back, it gave her a sense of exhilaration to go to such an unknown world full of creatures she never seen in her life!

She knew better to ask him directly though, Naruto would instantly say no and give a reason for her safety. It was sweet to worry about her, but she was a ninja in training! She could handle these things all by herself if she had to, but it wouldn't hurt to have an experienced guide with her.

"So, did you get your results yet? I did!" Ino said gushing out her words rapidly.

"Did you pass?" Naruto asked. She nodded rapidly and broke out into a little dance.

"I did! I did! I passed!" She said happily while dancing. Naruto smiled, that was great!

"I should be getting mines soon, I wonder if I made it too?" Naruto wondered. Ino, while happy from her victory, put a hand of reassurance on his shoulder.

"Of course you'll pass! Remember, I'm waiting for you at the top!" Ino said to her friend. Naruto looked at her oddly for a moment before grinning and put a fist into the air.

"Of course I'll make it! What am I doing, making myself worry over nothing? Thanks Ino-chan!" Naruto said with his eyes closed and a giant smile on his face. Ino smiled in return at the boy's upbeat nature. After a few more minutes of talking about anything, the rest of the day was spent together window shopping and taking a visit to Ichiraku's Ramen.

Never once in their minds did they think it was seen as a date by certain onlookers.

**X-X**

After a few days have passed, Naruto was training his stances when Neji came to the compound to get his monthly report from Hinata. Today, he was being accompanied by Oberon, who was looking around the complex as if trying to find a spot to train his knig...partner.

He had made it onto a Genin team about a month back after Naruto's test and he wore his custom made brown leather strapped headband with an amount of superiority at his status. From what Hinata told him about her cousin, he had two males and a female as his teammates. When Naruto asked more, she could only shrug and say that she couldn't find out more about them. Neji was very secretive about his team, he guessed.

"Hey Neji!" Naruto called out to the boy, who turned and nodded before climbing the stairs. Naruto made sure that his eyes didn't wander to Oberon. He was almost sure that Neji didn't know that he was a Devil Summoner or that he could see demons himself.

After Neji left with his report, Naruto was called in by Gouto to come inside. After swinging a few more times to finish up his latest set, he entered into his living room.

Gouto was sitting there with a folder in front of him. The same folder that Kushina had when they were first starting out at that. When Naruto opened the folder, he saw a few papers have been added to the file. There was the meeting with Victor recorded in there and the case with Yumiko's death and results. He wondered who could write such a thing, but he figured it was Kushina.

Or maybe his teacher...who knows what that cat was capable of?

"As you can tell, this is what I call the Case File. It contains all of your significant events during your training as a Devil Summoner and soon enough, all your supernatural encounters while you go off gallivanting as a ninja." Naruto was wide-eyed at the last statement, did that mean...?

Gouto only tossed a letter next to folder Excited, Naruto ripped up the envelope to find that it was the results of the test!

He passed! He really passed!

"Yahoo!" Naruto shouted in glee as he did a little happy dance, not unlike Ino's dance. After a few minutes, he calmed down and began looking for his school supplies until he remembered he was listening to his teacher at the moment.

"Sorry, Gouto-sensei." He said sheepishly. Gouto only nodded his head and spoke again.

"It is fine, receiving such good news merits a joyful event such as yours sometimes." Gouto said with a swish of his tail, as if perishing the action.

"As you study to become a ninja, your training as a Devil Summoner will only intensify even more so. Your progress has been excellent for a disciple, and soon you'll be able to travel the dark worlds with more than just a powerful sword at your hilt. You will be able to even recruit your own set of allies from the dark world...provided you don't slack off." Gouto finished, bringing down Naruto's ego a bit with that last jab.

Nonetheless, he would never slack off from his training! This was just too cool!

"Now it is time to establish a name in the dark world. I've gotten a job request from Victor and I've chosen this to be your next assignment." Gouto said as had Kushina pull out the paper that he was referring to. Gouto was rather glad that his student's first demon knew paperwork around here...he had to wonder if this was her job back when she was alive?

"Victor wants you to settle a score of some sort for him near the poor class sector in the dark world. He said that the local demon leader of that area has been raiding his laboratory. You are there to find the cause of the raids, and put an end to it." Gouto briefed on an excited Naruto, his training was finally being used on the field!

"As usual, wear your summoner's clothes and head to the portal. Be discreet, Naruto, as there isn't any _outside _influence to help you enter the dark world this time." Gouto warned before leaving the room. Glancing at each other, Naruto and Kushina nodded before Naruto went to dress up in his gear.

**X-X**

Naruto had a nagging thought in his mind. Was Gouto being paranoid? Hardly anyone noticed him during his trip to the dark world portal. In fact, very few people stopped to glare at him as he was walking to the shopping area. He chalked it up to the fact that his kick ass new clothes provided some sort of cloaking jutsu thingy.

Naruto stopped, was this thing like the legendary Sight Jammer from Jammin' Ninja? That would be so cool!

Continuing on, Naruto found the alleyway that he entered so long ago. Judging from the unusual pristine condition of the alleyway, it seems that no one had touched it or even stepped into it. Glancing to the busybody people of the shopping district, it seemed that it was invisible to them!

Entering the alleyway, he touched the rippling portal before looking backwards. He didn't seem to notice anyone staring at him in curiosity. So why did people look into the alleyway when Ino cornered him?

"Kushina, why did no one look into the alleyway like before?" He asked his partner. Kushina, in response to his question closed her eyes a bit and opened them in a serious stare before looking around the area. After a while, her eyes calmed themselves into a vibrant and mischievous look before turning to Naruto and smiled, obviously proud of her little talent.

"It looks like there is a distortion near the area where the portal is. People probably think this is a fence or something." She said happily. Naruto only nodded and noted that it took Kushina very little to please her. For some reason, Naruto liked it like that.

After the tingling feeling that he got from entering the world once more, Naruto gazed his surroundings with a feeling of remembrance as he remembered his first time here. It was as quiet as he entered as he first remembered.

Then he felt something tumble on top of him.

Groaning, Naruto turned around to find the last thing he needed right now.

Ino.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, looking around for demon ambushes. Thankfully, there weren't none.

"How come you didn't tell me you were going to go back? You knew I always wanted to go back!" She said to the summoner. She seemed very annoyed to Naruto and his gut feeling told him that he was treading on a minefield right now...

"Ah...sorry Ino..." He said nervously, hoping to whatever god out there that he didn't set off the mine. Ino, catching the fear in Naruto's apology said nothing. She wondered if she could use this fear as a weapon...she would have to ask around.

"Well, now that I'm here, what are we doing?" Ino asked, letting him of the hook this time. Naruto sighed in relief before catching the 'we' in her words.

"What? What do you mean _w__e? _This is a solo job!" He said angrily. This was his first assignment in a while!

Ino glared, and Naruto mentally gulped. He had to remember that Ino was a minefield, and his brashness was practically a grenade going off while he was in it!

"Ah...what WE were doing..." Ino visibly relaxed, something that Naruto found relief in. " is doing something for Victor." He finished, explaining a bit to Ino. Naturally, this peaked her interest.

"What exactly are we doing for that crazy scientist?" She asked, thinking to herself that nothing normal happens when dealing with Victor.

"Oh, just some "keeping the peace" stuff...getting in control of the situation...busting up a gang screwing with his laboratory...you know, the usual!" Naruto babbled on, trying so very hard not to piss off the blond bomb. Ino stared weirdly at the rambling, before accepting.

"While I don't know about the usual, breaking up a demon gang looks fun, lets go!" Ino said, excited for more adventures in this world of wonder. Naruto tried to protest for her safety, but a tap from his partner and a subsequent shaking of her head told him not to push it any further.

Naruto sighed...and followed the girl. She was going the right direction anyways.

**X-X**

Neji couldn't put into words, but he was sure that he wasn't alone in seeing his insufferable...partners. While putting his "teammate" in his place on the ground during a spar, he swore that the girl on his team had her eyes flickering to where Oberon was above them, giving Neji pointers on how the opponent was moving. Granted, those early warnings gave Neji an edge in their spars, but he wondered who else could see his partners? When he asked the girl on his team, Tenten, he reminded himself, if she saw anything strange, the girl only looked at him oddly before saying no and continuing her barrage in kunai and shuriken regiments against a training dummy.

He knew he wasn't sociable, but did he come out as a cold-hearted bastard to everyone?

He shook his head, what did he care about that?

Neji sighed and continued his assault on a wooden pole in a training field, his Byakugan active all the way until his teacher, if he could call him that, dismissed them for the day.

After Neji was dismissed from his daily training, he considered training some more as his muscles seemed unused to such intense training. However, he decided against that since he had mediation sessions with Titania.

Oberon and Titania, two very different people with two different ways of life. One wanted grace and style with a sword from his page, something that he disdained to use, as all Hyuuga were superior to a sword. One wanted complete harmonization with the world and rule it with superior magic, something that Neji wasn't sure he could do.

He was also calming himself from the absolute hate he had against his cousin. Titania's questions and the mediation sessions made him think more often than he would like to. He still blamed her father for his father's own death, but the lashing out and the forced neutrality he had for his cousin lessened a bit each time a meditation exercise came up with the fairy queen.

After arriving at the compound meant for the branched wing of the Hyuuga family, he entered his room to find Titania waiting for him.

"Are you ready?" She asked, a soft smile on her face. Neji nodded and sat beside her in an meditative pose before closing his eyes to the rest of the world for a while as he began his meditations with the fairy queen.

**X-X**

After Ino's request to check on her dark world home, the blond duo checked by Victor's Laboratory and true to the letter's words, it had seen a number of raids. However, they only got as far as the entrance of the laboratory if the scorch marks by the top of the stairs were any indication.

When they got near the stairs though, a large stream of flame shot out from the dim lit bottom of the stairway towards them. Naruto dived and brought Ino down with him as the flames shot above them.

"Damn you to hell demons! That will show you not to mess with the great Victor!" a voice shouted from the bottom of the stairways. Naruto, ticked off that the mad idiot nearly fried them to a crisp, shouted back.

"Hey Idiot! Why do you think frying the people who is gonna help you get rid of the raiders, is a good idea?"

A large "Huh?" sounded from below before a sharp squeaking followed and a hurried clattering sounded closer and closer to where the still fallen Naruto and Ino were. Victor was gasping from the rush up the stairs and found Naruto on top of Ino. Victor stared a bit before commenting with a smile.

"I didn't think you two would move so fast. What have they been putting in food these days?" Victor asked himself, rather loudly. Naruto and Ino looked at each other before Naruto jumped off Ino's body while blushing. Ino blushed as well but it went away when the anger at nearly being turned into Ino flambe came rushing back. It gave her an excuse to become red faced other than the obvious precarious position a few seconds ago. Naruto had no such luxury, he already used up his righteous anger already at Victor.

"I am sorry for nearly turning you two into ash just now, but you can understand my predicament. I'm sure Gouto explained that to you, apprentice." He said while looking around for other raiding demons.

"Yeah, something about demons raiding your laboratory?" Naruto asked the scientist, who nodded. Ino, confused about the whole thing, stood silent while trying to gleam as much information from the conversation.

"Correct, apprentice. Its becoming some kind of trend lately with the discovery of my laboratory. Normally, they would leave me alone but every time a full moon appears in the skies, a large group of demons assaults my lab and trashes it up. I recently made my flamethrower turret active in order to keep them away." He paused before continuing. Ino noticed that the normally eccentric scientist was even more on edge than usual.

"Is there a full moon coming tonight?" Ino asked, finally speaking after getting whatever info she could get. Victor looked at the girl before smiling appreciatively. Truly, the summoner found a worthwhile partner in his adventures! Glancing at the attentive boy, he noted that the boy didn't know it yet.

"Ah, aren't you a smart young lady? Yes, there is a full moon coming tonight, but I'd like the apprentice and his partner to find out where are they coming from before stopping them. I can rest easy if you can find out why are they targeting my laboratory." Victor said to the duo. Naruto and Ino nodded before getting up and leaving the laboratory. Naruto was about to leave when Victor called him back.

"Ah, apprentice!" He called out to the boy. Naruto turned around and wondered what was up. He was surprised when a set of metal tubes were tossed to him by the scientist.

"Tell Gouto that his order was passed on to you. You may use them if you want, but reserve a tube for your angel partner there. The full moon affects demons not bound by a summoner's tube and you don't want your angel going insane, do you?" Victor said mysteriously before going down his stairway to his laboratory. The squeaking sound sounded again and an insane laughter came from the bottom of the stairway. Looking at the set of six tubes by his hand, he spotted Kushina staring at them as well.

"Are you ready Kushina?" He asked his partner, who nodded seriously. He decided to trust his instincts and point the tube to Kushina and was surprised when the top of the tube slid open and a bright green light enveloped Kushina. A flash of light later, and Kushina was nowhere to be found.

Desperate, Naruto looked around before a soft voice sounded in his head.

"_Naruto, I'm inside the tube._" The voice said clearly, as if it was next to Naruto. Naruto looked down to the tube and saw the tube glowing softly with a white light. Naruto felt Kushina's presence inside the tube and awed at the mysterious power of tube.

"_Now that I'm in the tube, you may call me out at any time to do battle. The full moon won't affect me anymore since I'm contracted fully to you. I would like it if you could keep me out of the open like before. I may not be affected by the full moon, but its awfully cramped in here!" _Kushina's voice sounded like a child.

Naruto, wanting the same, pointed the tube into a random direction and watched the same green energy glow once more before a flash of light made Kushina appear once again. Kushina seemed to stretch her limbs before waiting at Naruto's side.

Ino came into the laboratory's entrance looking curious at the light show and questioning why the two didn't come out after her a few moments later. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she grew angry.

"What are you doing in here? We got a job to do!" Ino said while huffing and walking out of the entrance to the laboratory. Naruto and Kushina looked at each other before Naruto sighed and pondered who would be roped with such a bossy girl. Kushina, on the other hand already notched another point to the girl's likability to her. She could see why Victor was going on about them moving too fast, and she laughed at the inside joke.

**X-X**

It was nearing closing time in Konoha's shopping district and Inoichi was worried. His little girl ran off again and he wondered if that dastardly Naruto had kidnapped her once more. He already was dirt on his shoe for his little stunt in his little flower's room, but this was just another divine sign that the boy wasn't right for his little girl at all!

At least one good thing came out of all this, Ino stopped talking so much about the Uchiha brat all the time.

He really didn't like the Uchiha clan when they were alive. The clan began trying to marry into other clans before being massacred by the traitor. He still couldn't believe that the prodigy of their clan was their downfall, but considering his disposition to the clan, he wasn't so harsh to the boy's actions. He would still waste the boy on the Hokage's orders if need be though, as he was a rouge ninja.

Sighing, he began tending to his flowers one more time before closing up. He could only hope that Ino didn't go off for more than what she already did. He was sure he would have a heart attack if she went off for more than a week, let alone two days.

Inoichi looked at the orange sky...he wondered if his old teammates were available to have a drink?

**X-X**

The energy of the full moon shone brightly in the dark skies of Konoha as Naruto and Ino were waiting for another raid on the scientist's laboratory. Naruto nor Ino ever had to wait this long for anything before. Naruto could maintain it more since his daily training with his teacher, but he was still bored out of his skull. Ino, whose family revolved around waiting and spying, didn't have as much experience waiting, so she was getting restless.

As they were about to move out and call it a day, a rumble of footsteps came from the distance along with shouts and growls of excitement. Naruto, Ino and Kushina looked toward the distance with wide eyes.

There were nearly a thousand monsters in the distance! There was no way that Victor could survive all of that, even with a summoner and a flamethrower!

Rushing down to the laboratory, a panicked Naruto and Ino stood before a confused Victor, who was wondering why they weren't up there.

"We got a problem, Victor! Th-there is like a thousand demons coming your way!" Ino shouted at the scientist, who began to sweat heavily.

"What? They never sent this many before! What am I going to do?" Victor was panicking before composing himself.

"I don't like to do this, but its time to make a Rückzug!" Victor said the last part in a foreign language before getting a leather bag and stuffing random laboratory equipment. Naruto and Ino could only stare as he put things that were surely bigger than the bag inside of it. The amazing thing about it was that Victor could heft it up with little to no trouble.

"Alright, that is everything but...-" Victor was cut off as the flamethrower turret exploded with a ferocity of a large explosion. A crow of victory from the demons for destroying the turret was heard from above the laboratory. Cursing, Victor slammed a button on the wall as a large steel cage went down in front of the emerging demons from the flames.

However, he didn't count on one particular demon who was able to breathe fire to shoot out at them. The humans ducked and watched as the stream of fire hit a book. Victor only took a glance before panicking in that foreign language again.

"Ack! Das Kompendium, nooo!" He shouted as the book of his collected demons was being burned to ashes in front of him. Naruto and Ino grabbed a side of Victor and started dragging him to the far corner of the laboratory, wondering how they were going to get out of this predicament.

Naruto began to march in front of the demon horde with his sword drawn. When a burst of flame shot out in front of him, he decided to begin testing his newest weapon. Grabbing the revolver, he aimed the barrel at one of the demons before pulling the trigger.

A large bang and a grunt of pain followed as Naruto dropped the gun to massage his hand. The force of the gun hurt his hand muscles as they got used to the recoil. The bullet however found its mark as the fire breathing demon writhed on the floor before bursting in flames and disappearing.

The fallen comrade only enraged the full moon infected demons even more as the raging demons began melting the steel off the cage. Some used fire like before, and some actually were using ice to freeze the cage before banging on it with their fists, as if to shatter it.

Naruto picked up his revolver before going back to the dazed doctor who was mutter about "Kompendium...sweet Kompendium." Ticked off, he hit the scientist on the head with the butt of the revolver, hoping to wake him up. It worked and the scientist took a look at the situation before hefting up his bag of wonders.

"We must leave immediately! Lets go, summoner and lady." Victor said before pushing a random brick on his wall. The wall clicked and a hidden passageway appeared next to them. After shouting at them to get inside, he grabbed Naruto's revolver and fired at a distant switch on the opposite end with great accuracy. The bullet lodged itself in the panel as two remaining cages from above clattered down. The cages blocked the closing hidden passageway as the humans and the angel walked quickly through the dimly lit passageway.

After climbing a ladder, Naruto and Ino were surprised that the top of the ladder led to the Yamanaka flower shop basement. After a shout to keep moving from Victor, the duo hefted up the Scientist's bag (which seemed really light, compared to the heavy looking things that Victor put into) and Victor with Kushina flying up last as to play rearguard.

After putting in the false tablet of floor on top of the hidden ladder, The group sighed in relief as they walked back up the stairs and watched through a window as demons were raiding the destroyed laboratory for anything they could find. After no more demons were seen moving about, the group made their way to Ino's bedroom. When they opened the door to the room, they found the portal that led Ino and Naruto to her bedroom still open. Something that disappointed Victor somehow.

"Hm...I see the box you used opened the portal itself, but it didn't close it. I'll have to close it with a timed sealer." He muttered as he prepared to jump into the portal. Naruto and Ino followed with Kushina as they landed in Ino's bed once again. Thankfully, neither Naruto nor Ino got into a compromising position. They did glare at Victor, who landed perfectly and without a sound. Kushina was looking around at Ino's room again, fascinated by the things within.

"I will slip out through this window and find a safe haven somewhere in this town. Until we meet again!" Victor called out as he jumped from the open window in Ino's room. A soft thud reached their ears until no more noise could be heard apart from the trashcan that Victor knocked over his escape to the darkness of Konoha's streets.

Ino sighed, that was way too close! It seemed that during the full moon is no place to explore the dark world, they almost got killed!

"Its getting late, I better get going." Naruto said while holding back a yawn. Ino could see he was tired and she could feel the fatigue catch up to her as well.

After saying their farewells, Naruto was lead by Ino to her door when a voice caught them both.

"Oh? Is this what made your father so angry, Ino?" Ino and Naruto turned to see a grown up version of Ino standing behind them while holding a dish and a rag. It looked like she was washing dishes.

"I believe that he will be home soon from visiting his friends...I think you should go, don't you think?" She said casually, but Naruto took the warning and left rather quickly. He wasn't about to go round 2 with the zealot father anytime soon after all.

Ino's mother only looked at the retreating boy before turning to Ino. She smiled slyly, it seemed that she found something else than the Uchiha boy...

"I know that you want to hide from your father that you are dating, but sooner or later, you'll have to tell him!" She said with a laugh as she went back to the kitchen, leaving a red faced Ino squawking about how she and Naruto aren't dating.

**X-X**

Naruto was sighing in relief that the day was over and done with. He could only await his blissful unconsciousness as his head hit the pillow of his bed.

When he finished saying his greetings to a still practicing Hinata, he entered and saw a most particular...guest.

It was Victor.

"You know, when you said "safe haven", I didn't think you would mean my home." Naruto said to the mad scientist.

Victor for his part, laughed rather normally. His maniacal laughter was absent in the home.

"Ah yes, but what safer haven than the haven of a Devil Summoner? You aren't using your underground spacing, are you? I don't want to intrude after all..." He said smugly, as if knowing that Naruto isn't using the ground underground.

Defeated, Naruto shook his head to the amused scientist.

Clapping his hands in glee, Victor continued.

"Don't worry! I won't interrupt your daily lives, I'll just make a little hole underground and that will be that!" Victor said reassuringly to the apprentice summoner. Somehow, Naruto thought, that little hole wasn't going to be so little.

Glancing at the widening grin of the mad scientist, he was probably right on the money...

All he could think about now, is to sleep this all off. He really hoped nothing crazy like a demon invasion happened tomorrow, cause he'll be out tomorrow, that was for sure!

**So, this is the beginning of the second arc here. Its going to range from the Graduation Exam to possibly the team placements. In the middle is all new cases, more misadventures from Neji and the fairy duo, and possibly more Hinata time relating to the Devil Summoner universe.**

**My previous writing buzz is lulling with the upcoming English class I'm taking around August 31. I'm sure that I will get the buzz when I'm taking the class as this English class will have me writing like no tomorrow!**

**I'll just leave you guys with another on my observations, regarding reality in training montages I see in some AU fics.**

**As you all know, I don't like to go into too much detail on what Naruto does in his daily training, seeing as I can't write a decent montage to save my life. That aside, I would like to think that training sessions are reasonably balanced.**

**I can understand when a training regiment is reasonable. I understand 30-40 sets of a given thing then they move on to something else. However, some people who instantly make them super characters get insane amounts of workouts and call it light training.**

**That is crap. No matter the supreme stamina of any person, I really doubt that someone can do 1500 jumping jacks, 1200 push-ups, 1000 squats, and 3000 sword/axe/spear/martial arts sets and have enough stamina to take down that local bandit organization over there...**

**Be believable, people! If you can't write a montage, don't keep stacking up things that you know would tire out a person out! Treat your characters as human rather pieces of animation. People really do get turned off from the ridiculous amounts of "training" these AU characters go through.**

**I can understand that some people build it up during their chapters and I like that and can accept such amounts sometimes. However, I can't accept that out of the blue, someone slaps something silly like "Seven year later..." and the character in question can do things not even Atlas himself can do and call it a morning warm up!**

**I'll see you all later!**

**Terra Ace**

**FutureStamp ©: Greetings from the Future! Hope you enjoy the revised chapter!**


	10. The Heavenly Demon Part 1

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 10

Naruto Uzumaki wasn't too set on exploring the dark world of Konoha, even after three months since the raid on the doctor's laboratory happened. However, as part of his training, Gouto insisted that he get used to the atmosphere of the dark world as to not get a foreign reaction from a lack of exposure to the other world.

After Naruto explained to Hinata that they would be getting a new...tenant, she was confused as to why the man was studying the corner of the complex as if hypnotized by it. Naruto could only try to wave off the eccentric doctor's...interest while the doctor seemed to froth at the idea of a secret underground lair.

**X-X**

Naruto was sitting at home, trying to make heads or tails of the homework that Iruka-sensei assigned his class today. He wasn't bad at homework, he just never had a fun assignment! It was all "How many X Kunai would hit Y bodies if the wind was the force of a tropical rainstorm?" and nothing on the practical side of things. He had nothing bad to say on the academic side of the student body, but he was a man of action!

Of course, the Academy is still in tune with the notion of knowledge is power, so there were hardly, if any at all, assignments that required some form of physical strain.

Hinata, who took to studying the assignments with Naruto, could sympathize with the restless boy. While she wasn't as physically demanding on the assignments they get as homework, she wished that she could practice some of the skills she read in the textbooks sometimes. Just reading wouldn't ready your body for it, so why not practice it? She may have gotten a bit of confidence in the months she lived with Naruto-kun, but she was sure that not even Naruto would demand...oh wait, he would.

All she could do is complete the assignments to the best of her ability and hope that her teacher would deem her worthy enough to wear the cloth that separates her from the rest of the civilians as a proud ninja member of the Konoha Military.

"Mah...would it really kill Iruka-sensei to give some sort of field homework or something? I refuse to believe that we will be ready just doing paperwork!" Naruto voiced his frustrations. Hinata could only nod as she kept working on her own problem.

Naruto's complaints stopped when Gouto walked into the room and Hinata had to wonder if the relationship with the Cat and Boy was deeper than she assumed. She shook off the fact as the cute factor of the black cat came into play in her mind as the cat meowed cutely. Oh! When she was a Chunin ninja, she had to get a cat like that!

While Hinata heard a very cute meow from the cat, Naruto heard his name being spoken from the ever serious cat. Naruto knew enough though that just up and leaving the room would instantly put Hinata-chan on edge and make her curious, so had to make something up.

Stretching his arms and making a real deep groaning sound, Naruto stood up.

"I'm gonna go take a walk, I'll be back soon Hina-chan!" Naruto announced as he got up from his position on the ground to his room. A few minutes later, his large Axe was strapped onto his back. Hinata could only sigh as the complexity of boys and big weapons and their need to show off such weapons still was a boggling mystery to her. If it were any other weapon, like a Kunai set or a giant Katana, she would've asked about it.

However, after living so long with the boy, she got used to him just dashing off into the village or to the training grounds with it on his back. At least he wasn't wearing the orange suit this time, since he was slowly transforming his look from an orange blip to a very snazzy white collar shirt and black pants and vest to school sometimes.

She could still remember the first time he wore it. She blushed heavily when he first wore it to school and had wondered if a rich upper class citizen wandered over to the academy by mistake until she realized it was Naruto! According to some of the girls in her class, she actually blushed even redder than normal and fainted, the first time in a while since her battle with her dark self.

Of course, most of the other girls in her academy class could only stare as the obviously rich boy sat in the chair meant for the dead last when they realized that the attractive boy was actually the dead-last Naruto!

Poor Iruka and half of the boy population cringed as screams of joy, terror and lust echoed through the hallways of the school. Iruka actually went to the school infirmary to see if the medic had something for temporary hearing loss!

It was a mystifying time trying to solve the mystery that were girls...very mystifying indeed.

**X-X**

Naruto sighed in relief as Hinata was none the wiser as he grabbed his Axe from his room. He only looked to his cat teacher as he began walking down the stairs with the cat on his head. He was excited when Gouto said his name so seriously and began to hope for another case but he was beginning to think the cat was just lonely.

It was clear that the cat had other plans than a secret rendezvous

"Naruto, I think its time for you to learn how to make a living using the ways of the Devil Summoner." Gouto began, which startled Naruto a bit. For all Naruto knew, Gouto-sensei was making the job of being a Devil Summoner something like a superhero or honorable samurai. He didn't expect it to be...well mercenary-like.

"I see from the look on your face that you thought being a Devil Summoner is all about being honorable and the like? Well, you are right...to a certain extent."

"How?"

"Well, when the job of Devil Summoner was first created into being, it was regarded as holy and honorable. These days, with the lack of demon/summoner interaction, we'll have to make sure it reaches its former glory. The only way we'll get the ball rolling is to advertise our services." Gouto explained as the boy and cat began moving again.

"I've already had Victor write up these fliers advertising our services as a Devil Summoner. Fortunately, with this world's unique view on demons, we won't sound like complete lunatics." Gouto finished before turning his head toward a stack of papers in front of the small gate of the complex.

Naruto stopped, what view?

"How did you get Victor to copy all of these? And what view on demons?" He asked while counting the stack, there was close to nearly 100 copies in this stack!

Gouto however, looked perplexed at this question before realizing something.

"You...never heard of a copy machine?" He asked of his clueless student.

"Kopi...mackine?" Naruto tried to pronounce the foreign wording.

"Hm...I guess this world is more backwards in technology than I thought..." Gouto muttered to himself before addressing his student.

"When I first entered this village with you, I initially expected some sort of backwards incompatibility seeing all these trees and lack of any certain modern building materials." Gouto began another of his remembrances.

"When I first saw your refrigerator at your house, then saw a clock on the wall, I assumed that your "Hokage Tower" building would have one of those things. I just had Victor write one up and make all the copies in the span of five minutes. To be impressed by such a...mundane thing is astonishing to me." Gouto finished.

"Huh...I'd like to see this kopi mackine sometime! Being a Hokage will be a breeze if I have one of these!" Naruto said happily as he began walking into the shopping district. Gouto only sighed and climbed upon the boy's head as the boy did the walking for the both of them for a while.

"Take a part of this stack and give it to a local merchant and give other parts to traveling merchants so that we can get widespread attention to our profession." Naruto nodded and began dividing the stack of papers, completely forgetting his question on demons.

"I'll go ahead and find some out of town merchants for you to give those fliers to. Start with the local merchants and I'll come find you." Gouto said before launching off the boy's head. Naruto only sighed, somehow, he didn't think his teacher knew about his status as a pariah with the local populace yet. However, he had to keep a straight face, he couldn't let his weaknesses show, especially to the wolves.

Grunting in confidence, he walked into the shopping center and began entering the stores, hoping for anyone to take one of these fliers and not rejecting him on sight.

Gouto was in fact, tailing the boy instead of doing what he said he was going to do. He had some suspicions when he first came to live with the boy whenever he mentioned going into the merchant sector. He would always twitch or move his eyes whenever he made an excuse not to go (not did Gouto let it deter him from ordering his pupil into the sector). After staying hidden from the boy's sight as he watched him stall for a bit before entering the shop.

A few minutes later, the boy only walked out with his head hung and his stack as full as he went in.

Looks like he'll have to focus on the outside merchants, for this town seems to want nothing with the boy...he had to wonder why though.

Landing in front of the surprised boy, Gouto told the boy a half truth about finding a merchant going out of the village. He had in fact found a merchant train, but he wasn't sure if they left.

**X-X**

Hinata was practicing her homework all the while thinking about where Naruto went with Gouto all the time. He sure acted strange whenever the cat looked at him, as if getting a sense of adventure whenever he left the home.

Letting her eyes wander found Hinata something on the floor that belonged to Naruto.

A key. She thought it was a key to his room, but Naruto didn't have a lock on his door, so what was it for? Shaking her head, it wasn't up to her to know, it must be important to the boy and that was as far as the girl's interest would go.

Looking for a place to put the key, but finding a surprising lack of a desk or boxes in the living room, Hinata finally decided to just enter his room. She was sure that he had a desk or box she could put it in.

Entering the room found Hinata in a rather odd place. She found the room normal enough, but there was a presence in this room that told her that she wasn't alone. Subtly looking to the best of her ability around her without using her Byakugan eyes (she figured that the intruder might be able to sense chakra changes), she looked about the room, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Finding nothing obviously out of place, Hinata activated her special eyes and scanned the room, searching for anything out of the ordinary. After searching for a few minutes, she deactivated her special sight and put the key on the boy's desk before closing the door to her friend's room.

Kushina was looking at the door to her partner's room in interest. The girl Naruto was friends with could sense her presence, but could not see her. Her cousin could see her without the use of those weird eyes, but it looked like she could not do the same.

It was interesting to say the least, she would have to tell her partner later.

**X-X**

Convincing the merchant train leader was a bit of a mixed bag for Naruto. He had to promise the leader that if he did this favor, he would have to give the leader ten percent of the first ten clients payments as payment. After Gouto practically ordered him to agree, Naruto nodded and shook hands with the leader, who began passing the stack to the merchant train members.

He got his promised advertising, but ten percent? The merchant leader must be expecting some big payments from this to take such a risk. For the first time, Naruto wasn't sure whether this was a good idea...

"Well, we did what we set out to do for the day, lets go back to the complex." Gouto said before perching himself on top of the boy's head. Naruto only sighed and began walking back to the complex.

He was so sure that something would happen today!

**X-X**

Later that night, after Hinata greeted him while doing her evening training, Naruto entered his room to find the key that Hinata told him she found on the floor and put in his room. Naruto didn't tell her that he had no idea what the key was for, but best not make the heiress sad and have the clan head father of said heiress mad and breathe down his neck.

After thanking her for the information, Naruto began fiddling with the key, trying to remember what it was for. Drawing up a blank, he was about put the key back where it was when he found some small writing on the key itself.

"_Wave this key around your wall" - Victor_, it read.

Looking doubtful, Naruto began waving around the key in a comedic way, with Kushina laughing at his antics all the way. After five minutes of nothing happening, Naruto got frustrated and threw the key across his room to the opposite corner.

He was surprised when a flash of green shot out and enveloped the key while it was traveling to its corner. A few seconds later, a low pitched beeping sounded and a part of his wall collapsed.

Naruto's eye twitched, what did Victor do to his wall?

Peering inside, he found a room made completely of metal. Stepping inside, he and Kushina were shocked when the opening leading to his room snapped up and the room began vibrating. A humming sound was reaching his ears as he lost his footing and fell to the floor.

Trying to not instinctively murder Victor was proving to be challenging to Naruto's mind as he was sure the metal room was dragging him below ground level and not stopping anytime soon. As soon as that thought left his mind though, the metal room stopped vibrating and the collapsing wall fell again to reveal something extremely Victor like.

It was a bigger laboratory, filled with even more crazy contraptions that Naruto could recognize from the old laboratory (and some that he couldn't). Naruto had to wonder if the good doctor had way too much time on his hands sometimes...

"Ah, young apprentice! Welcome to my new laboratory!" A voice that could only belong to the scientist rang above him. Naruto and Kushina looked up to see Victor atop a platform made of wood. He had a mask on him made of plastic, but both Naruto and Kushina could see that there was an opening where his eyes would be covered by tinted glass.

Watching Victor jumping down from the platform, Naruto was sure he was no ninja and had no chakra aiding his fall and he would surely break his legs. Then he dismissed that thought as Victor landed with a loud clap of his boots on the floor. Naruto had to remind himself...

This was Victor.

Scientist.

Demon researcher.

Inventor of things that would scare and awe the populace.

Probable (see 100%) lunatic.

"Well, I see you brought your partner! This might be useful to her and to you summoner." Victor said as he began rummaging in a desk nearby. Naruto and Kushina were confused at first, but were on edge when Victor pulled out a syringe and a small vial containing an orange liquid.

"What are you doing Victor?" Naruto said, suddenly feeling stupid that he left his Axe in his room.

However, Victor grinned, possibly trying to calm the worried duo down. If anything, it was unnerving them even more.

"Do not worry, this is something I recovered from my days as an Arzt for the experimental division. I used to create medicine for the secret summoner branch of the Japanese military of the town where young Kuzunoha resided oh so long ago." Victor chuckled as he stepped closer to the duo, who instinctively backed away.

"This particular vaccine is a very unique byproduct of an attempt to stave off the effects of the full moon. It was said to stop military enlisted demon partners from going insane in dark world operations. It was to imitate Kuzunoha's natural abilities in his enlisted demons to null the insanity factor that military demons experienced during full moon missions."

Victor paused, as if remembering something, before continuing on the origins of the shot.

"However, I'm going off track here. This wasn't the vaccine that the military hoped it would be. It instead made it possible for demons to reach a step in their natural growth much more quickly than possible." Victor began inspecting the syringe to a nearby lamp before nodding.

Naruto and Kushina stopped backing away, running out of room to back away from and curious about the new information.

"To put in blunt terms, this vaccine accelerated the growth of the subjects at least three fold. It wouldn't have any detrimental effects like the military demons due to your natural ability to null such things as Full Moon Insanity. It would make your demon partners reach their fullest potential in times of crisis, but it would intensify the results...and fatigue of training and combat during normal times, such as now." Victor explained and held out the syringe in a non-threatening manner.

Naruto and Kushina looked at the shot intensely. It would help Kushina during her training, but there was no need for such accelerated results, he liked Kushina just the way she was and seeing the look from his partner, she agreed as well.

"Sorry Victor, we don't want that shot." Naruto said to the scientist. Victor looked at him for a bit before smiling and putting away the syringe and draining the liquid in a nearby sink.

"Understandable, this kind of thing isn't exactly desired in times of peace, is it?" Victor chuckled before changing the subject.

"This laboratory can replicate the effects of the vaccine at any time you wish. However, enough about the chemistry of the lab!" Victor laughed and began pointing at things all over the lab and explained the meaning to the summoner and demon partner.

"This will make my old lab seem like a hole in the floor! I will soon begin my journey once again to be the number one scientist in the world!" Victor began laughing maniacally to the audience. Naruto didn't have the heart to tell the scientist that he was probably the ONLY scientist in all of Fire Country...

"How did you get all this?" Naruto asked, looking at all the machines and doohickeys that Victor possessed in large amounts. Victor for his part, seemed rather proud of the question and answered in such a manner.

"Well, I built each and every one of them, all custom made for my research!" Victor said proudly.

Naruto wanted to dismiss that seeing the huge numbers, but he remembered that it was Victor and such a thing could very well happen whenever he is involved.

A small beeping from a nearby monitor grabbed the attention of the scientist and Naruto. When Victor finished examining the beeping, he turned to Naruto.

"I believe you are being wanted by your dark haired friend. I suggest you leave the way you came in, as to not worry her. Just push the button on the side of the elevator to go back up." Victor said before turning his attention to another beeping machine. Naruto and Kushina heard the collapsing wall slide down again as the duo entered and pushed the button marked 'Up'. Naruto briefly wondered why he didn't see such a button before but chalked it up to the shock of a moving room.

After arriving back in his room within a minute, Naruto found that Victor was correct in his prediction. Hinata was knocking on his door multiple times.

Opening the door revealed a relieved Hinata. It seemed she was knocking on his door for a while now and had something she wanted him to hear.

"Finally, I was knocking on your door for a while now! Sakura-san dropped off a letter just now, and she said it was for your eyes only." Hinata said while giving him the letter. Naruto glanced at its simple sheath and wondered why Sakura of all people would give him a letter?

"I'm tired, so I'll see you in the morning Naruto-kun. Good night!" Hinata said before walking down the stairs to her home on the lower floors of the apartment complex.

After telling Gouto of the letter and the secret elevator to Victor's laboratory in his room, Naruto opened the letter and read the contents.

_Naruto,_

_There is something I would like to discuss with you. I think you know what I'm talking about._

_-Sakura_

Naruto frowned, from how formal the letter was sounding, it looked like Sakura knew something he didn't. However, that didn't make any sense! Was she talking about him being a summoner? That couldn't be it, as most of the population ignored him or was under some kind of spell every time he did his summoner work.

Regardless, she made it seem like a demand, and Naruto did not bend to anyone's demands.

"Gouto-sensei, this seems odd, even for Sakura-chan. What could this mean?" He asked of his teacher later on in the day. Gouto read the letter multiple times before letting out a hum, as if thinking on it.

"I would say that this is a letter for something completely different than being a Devil Summoner. She may be referring to something completely different, but what it is, I do not know." Gouto said while reading the letter once more.

"However...we may have to assume that this _isn't _"Sakura-chan" that wrote it. Since you became a Devil Summoner, more possibilities have opened up and it could be the work of a demon possessing the girl."

"It would be best if you would meet her tomorrow. Subtly talk to her about the letter, and see if that will trigger your..."meeting." " Gouto told his charge before exiting the room, mumbling about needing his rest.

Naruto stared at the letter once more before feeling the exhaustion set in by the day. Falling asleep, Naruto's last thoughts revolved around the letter, the events of the day, and wondering if he should've applied Victor's crazy medicine.

**X-X**

Outside of Naruto's complex, a girl was watching the dimming light of Naruto's room and she sighed. She was so hoping that he would talk to her tonight, but as it was, she had to return to her host's body soon.

As she walked back to her host's room, a flash of pink hair waved through the lamppost shine of the evening Konoha nightlife.

**X-X**

As soon as she reached her host's room, she found a demon staring hungrily toward a struggling and moaning Sakura. Tendrils of dark energy was connected to the demon and into various positions of Sakura's body and was drinking what seemed to be her life energy.

Growling, the copy of Sakura startled the feeding demon with a shattering punch that sent the demon through the wall. The demon, however made no such impact on the wall itself as it went through the wall itself with the copy following it.

The demon, bathed in the moonlight, revealed itself to be a gray skinned demon with apparently no arms of it's own. It's red eyes and horns on its head, however, brimmed with fresh stolen life energy and the copy didn't know how much of it was her host's energy.

Shaking her head, the copy dismissed the thought, her mission as of now is to recover her host's life energy.

"You...surely you haven't lost your mind yet, Take-Minakata?" The copy asked of the demon, who roared in a primal rage.

Shaking her head again, she began glowing all over as she closed her eyes in concentration. The demon, Take-Minakata, began charging at her, intent in taking her life energy for himself. It was too late as the copy opened her eyes and shouted out.

"Demon begone! _Akasha Arts!_" the copy's arms struck the rushing demon with a punch that shattered the surprised Take-Minakata's ribs and sent him flying. The copy grinned as she disappeared and reappeared behind the stunned demon with a glowing fist. Take-Minakata only had time to turn his head to investigate before the glowing punch went through his body, resulting in his destruction in a brilliant white light.

Just as Sakura's copy returned to her host's room, several on duty ninja patrols quickly gathered to search the area. They were instantly suspicious of a second bright light so soon within the first sighting. While they couldn't find anything remotely suspicious, they were still on alert all night long, trying to find the culprit responsible for such a thing.

**X-X**

The next day found Naruto attending another of Iruka's lessons on Ninja History (Instinctively hammered to have Capital letters in the title by Iruka himself) and Naruto just couldn't concentrate on the lesson (not that he put much effort into that anyways). He was still thinking on that letter, and he needed to confront Sakura about it. If what his teacher said was true, then Sakura was in grave danger!

After Iruka dismissed them, Naruto was steeling his nerves to talk to Sakura. He hadn't really interacted with his schoolmates aside from Ino and Hinata in like ever. He was even feeling disconnected from his three running mates Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba.

Letting out a breath of air he didn't know he held, he put on a confident grin and walked up to the pink haired girl, who was talking to some of her...allies Naruto would say. He didn't know if they were friends or not, but the girls in Sakura's presence were avid fangirls of the broody Sasuke Uchiha.

"Uh...Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, feeling the sense of unfamiliarity from not addressing her in such a way for some time. The girl in turn, only looked at him with a mix of curiosity and guardedness. The other girls were already wondering if they could use this meeting as weapons in their race for the noble Uchiha's heart.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" Sakura told the blond boy, hoping that he did not turn this into another session of asking her out.

Naruto hesitated and that caught Sakura's attention. The loudmouth, hesitating? Such a rare occurrence merited some more of her attention than she originally thought! Was he finally going to quit asking her out?

Sakura saw that he started to pull something out of his pocket...oh no! Was this another love letter? Or even a box of chocolates? She couldn't take another embarrassment like this, not when she was so close!

Then he produced a...plain looking letter? Sakura had to wonder if this boy was a little mixed up in the ways to a girl's heart. She knew that asking her out consistently and giving love letters afterward was unheard of, not to mentioned very awkward.

"Did you write this?" He asked and Sakura had to back up a few steps. HE was here to ask HER if she wrote a letter to HIM? What was wrong with this picture?

Scanning the letter, she could immediately recognize her own handwriting, but she could never remember ever writing such a letter! What about this "I think you know what I'm talking about?" line? She didn't remember ever hearing something that this boy didn't know about, so she had to assume someone copied her handwriting at some point and given it to the boy.

"It looks like my handwriting...but I don't remember ever writing a letter to you. This must be a fake." She said with finality. She expected the boy to just drop it, but he kept asking questions. After not answering to any of them, the boy finally said something to her.

"Hina-chan said you gave this letter to her personally." Naruto said with utmost seriousness. Sakura turned at the name of Hinata and her anger spiked.

She would never forget the feeling of Hinata's fists and movements as she practically left her to die. For that day marked a vendetta against the girl and hearing her name out of this boy's mouth enraged her. Unfortunately for her, her anger often makes her say things that she usually doesn't mean.

"I wouldn't trust the word of that monster if I were you."

Those words echoed around the hallway as it seemingly echoed all over. After a moment, a small sound of footsteps echoed and everyone who was watching the silent exchange saw the Hyuuga heiress calmly walking away. What everyone didn't see was her eyes spill a couple of tears drop as she left save for Naruto.

Naruto growled and that caught everyone's attention.

"She is not a monster! She saw you with her own eyes as you left the letter to her!" Naruto said angrily as Sakura grew even more angry.

"And I am telling you that I didn't write this stupid letter! I know when I write letters, and this isn't mine! Who are you going to trust the word of more? The one telling you that she did not write this letter, or that blind mon-" her mouth was clamped shut by Ino as Naruto's anger seemed to roll off of him.

The next words out of this mouth shook her greatly as his voice seemed to have a deadly edge to it.

"I would rather trust the word of my friend than the true blind monster I see in front of me!" Naruto said to her in a way that it shook the core of her being. Naruto only glared as he ran past the crowd and in pursuit of the Hyuuga heiress, leaving behind chattering crowds as new rumors and observations in support of Hinata and Naruto was being divided over the support of Sakura. It was total chaos, to say the least.

After a moment, Sakura rubbed her jaw as Ino removed her hard pressed hand over her mouth. When Sakura looked into the eyes of her rival, she could see no emotion from the girl's eyes. Ino then turned her back on her and said something that really didn't need to be put aloud. It was already proven.

"When are you going to start seeing again, Sakura?" Ino said before leaving the academy building. If it wasn't the shock from her very own "fanboy" telling her off, it was the hurt that was settling in from her once friend saying something that she surely didn't mean to blurt out once she started calming down.

"What have I done? That wasn't my letter...it really wasn't...was it?" She said to herself before studying the letter again as she walked home.

**X-X**

Naruto didn't seem to stop at all as he was searching all over for the heiress. He didn't care about the mission at the moment, he had a friend that was hurting somewhere and he had to make sure she wasn't doing anything stupid.

After finding his way into the path that lead to his home, he found Hinata practicing on her usual area in the training ground. She seemed to be training harder than usual, and her face was very stoic.

Naruto knew from experience that Hinata took her training very seriously. His most recent experience happened when he tried to ask her about something on the homework assignment and grabbed her shoulder. Hinata really freaked out to him and struck him with the rest of her attack pattern before profusely apologizing to the knocked out boy.

If it wasn't for Kushina trying to fan him, he might've been out there all day in the burning sun!

Last time, it was a complete accident, but this time was completely intentional.

Naruto sighed, this was going to hurt...

"Hina-chan?" Naruto said quietly to the girl while grabbing her shoulder. As he expected, Hinata startled herself from the contact and aimed one well aimed palm strike right to the middle of his abdomen.

"Ugh...now that is familiar..." Naruto gasped out as Hinata looked shocked at the reaction. Naruto only tried to grunt out the pain as he put his hands on a still Hinata's shoulders. A moment of nothing passed until finally Hinata sniffled as a warning before wrapping her arms around Naruto, all the while letting out all the tears she kept in.

"Its not fair...I didn't do this! Why am I being called a monster?" Hinata sobbed out as she kept holding on to Naruto. Naruto sympathized with her, but he needed to point out that Sakura didn't know about her other self.

"Hina-chan...its ok. Its over now." Naruto said, feeling that now wasn't the time to explain to the girl about Sakura's little...mistake.

**X-X**

When Ino found them both a few hours later, Naruto motioned for her to help him carry a tired Hinata into her room. After Ino and Naruto put tucked a sleeping Hinata into her own bed and left her apartment, Naruto groaned and slumped to the floor. Ino's panicked scream didn't bother Naruto or Hinata as Naruto kept mumbling "Never again." over and over again.

**X-X**

The next few days was awkward at best for the parties of the spectacle. Hinata, Naruto and Ino avoided Sakura and Sakura herself seemed keen to do her part and avoid them as well. She even seemed unenthusiastic in answering any questions and didn't seem to pester Sasuke at all (something in which the boy was relieved from). Hinata herself was recovering nicely and began becoming confident once again with her work and her questions and answers.

When Friday night rolled around, Naruto was talking to Gouto when a sharp knocking at his front door sounded. When Naruto opened it, he was surprised to see Sakura of all people at his door. Naruto, still not on speaking terms was about to tell her to go away when she began speaking in a voice that certainly didn't belong to a girl her age...or her species at all for that matter.

"Summoner Uzumaki...we meet at last." "Sakura" spoke to him almost respectfully. Naruto sensed Gouto behind him as he began reaching for the Axe propped by his door when "Sakura" held her hands in front of him in a placating manner.

"Woah, hold on Summoner...I am not here to do combat. I am here requesting your help." "Sakura" asked of a surprised Naruto.

"What kind of help?" He asked of the obvious copy of the girl. "Sakura" smiled before motioning to be let in. After getting a nod from his teacher, he let the copy in.

"I am what you could say...an inheritance demon. I am passed on to certain people every few generations and act as a..."voice" to my heir." The demon paused before continuing.

"Recently, a rogue demon was attempting to feed on my heir's life force. It was light at first, but when the demon accidentally unlocked a method for me to leave my host's body, I began repelling the demon each night for nearly three months now. However, each and every time, the demon began to grow stronger and stronger. I can barely hold him off from feeding on my host and it has been showing on her via a physical realm."

"Such as?" Gouto asked of the copy, to which the demon responded.

"I'm sure you've seen increased irritability, passiveness and all around being harsher than usual." The copy explained as Naruto checked off all of those traits to how Sakura reacted yesterday. It was coincidental to what the demon was speaking, but human emotions can go haywire without a demon as well.

"If she doesn't receive aid soon, that demon will take her entire lifeforce and kill her." The demon finished.

"How am I going to help her?" Naruto asked of the copy.

"Its very simple, I want you to convince her while I do battle with the rogue demon. If she can say my true name during the battle, I will be able to completely purify the demon for good and be able to aid her for the foreseeable future. I can only give one clue about my identity however, but that it is all I can give."

The demon paused before reciting his clue to Naruto and Gouto. The student and master noticed that the vibrant green eyes turned red as it spoke.

"_I am the guardian of law, war, fortune and the north. I am one of four and serve only one." _The demon finished before closing its eyes and returning to its copied green shade.

"I entrust her fate to you, she needs to free me from this prison if she is to survive at all." The demon stood up and bowed to the cat and human before departing the apartment and into the night, possibly back to its host.

"A demon who is trapped by inheritance, but yet is not as malevolent as the heiress. I have heard of such things happening before but to have one pop up here? There is also the matter of the rogue demon attacking and draining her lifeforce..." Gouto wondered before facing Naruto.

"It seems that this girl is more than troubled by things out of her control. Her raging emotions could be the result of the demon draining her lifeforce, and hence her little outburst on the heiress here."

"You have received a new case, Naruto. I suggest you get a move on if you want to save this girl." Gouto said as Naruto ran into his room to gear up into his summoner clothing and called for Kushina, who was as ready as ever.

"Lets go!" Naruto said as he ran out of the apartment with Kushina hot on his trail. Gouto looked at them from inside and was thinking to himself.

_'An inherited demon...such a thing wasn't uncommon back then...plenty of families had roots to demon pacts, so perhaps this girl was such an heir?'_

Gouto sighed, he only hoped that his charge finished this quickly, he still had his homework to do for school tomorrow.

**I would like to start off by saying that I'm sorry for the month long delay, I've been busy doing my homework for my English class. That and my writing block took a little longer than expected to clear out of the road.**

**I am also reluctant to publish other chapters because I've been receiving rather offensive e-mails directly from someone in the fanfiction community. He or she has somehow learned of my e-mail address and has been sending rather vulgar messages directly about how my stories suck and how her or his ideas were stolen by me and some other garbage.**

**Frankly, I kind of do my research when I do some of my ideas and while there are some attempts at some writing ideas that I'm interested in by other authors, I add to the possibilities than to outright copy some of the other author's efforts.**

**I do not steal, I do not copy any idea that hasn't been already established by authors other than me intentionally. If there is such a thing, I apologize and state that any ideas, persons, locations and/or plot is purely coincidental and never have or ever will be copied by me.**

**I hope this cleared up some things and I will be on my way on writing up the second part of this little adventure.**

**You can always try to find out what the demon the copy really is and if you send it to me correctly in a pm, I'll be sure to congratulate you as part of the bold credits for getting it right. So, not sure if its an incentive, but hey, go for it if you're interested.**

**Laters!**

**Terra Ace**

_**FutureStamp ©: Here is another revised chapter! Thanks for reading!**_


	11. The Heavenly Demon Part 2

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 11

Naruto was running along the streets with his cape flowing in the night and his hair waving from the cool air. His bandanna's tails swaying in the wind as he ran toward his destination. Alongside him was Kushina, flying at his side and ready for anything.

While Naruto tried to remember where Sakura lived, he was also trying to find a way on how to convince the girl about the demon's warning. The copy's clue was cryptic, and judging from the way her dismissal of facts, she wasn't easy to convince of anything.

A sudden roar and sounds of fists connecting directed Naruto and Kushina to the right as they watched an armless demon and Sakura's copy fight each other in the skies.

"Come on!" Naruto said to Kushina, who nodded and turned to meet the combatants.

When the duo entered the battlefield, the streets were littered with scorch marks. Naruto and Kushina had to take cover in a corner of a building as Sakura's copy threw the armless demon to the other side of the road, making a flurry of dust in the process. Naruto waited until the armless demon was busy trying to get back up to pay attention to the copy, who landed near them.

"I see you followed me. I am too busy warding away the demon, so I need you to check up on my host. If you can wake her and convince her...well you know the rest." The copy said before jumping to meet the lunging armless demon.

"Which one is Sakura's house?" He called out to the fighting copy.

"Third one on the right!" The copy called back as she used her arms to block the flurry of kicks from the demons. Naruto looked to the home, but there was no way to get in.

Naruto stopped, he had an idea.

"Kushina! Get me up to that window!" He told his partner, who looked confused for a bit, but nodded.

Jumping to give Kushina a boost, he was grabbed from under the arms by Kushina. Kushina struggled for a bit before slowly lifting Naruto to where he pointed.

"You...are...heavy!" Kushina said slowly as she lifted the boy up to the windowsill. Naruto, however, didn't pay attention to the comment. He was too busy trying to get a foothold on the edge of the windowsill.

Trying to pry it open was harder than it looked as Naruto struggled to open it. Kushina was covering his back trying to deflect the occasional fireball or energy beam with her wings or spells.

"I can't open it..." Naruto said to himself before grabbing his sword. Telling Kushina to hold his weight as he put power into his jab, Naruto stabbed his scabbard into the window which shattered it. After holding still for a moment and hearing no sounds from inside the house, Naruto opened the window from the inside and slid into Sakura's room.

Naruto's impression of Sakura's room was basically typical of a girl's room. A dresser with a mirror on top, various make up equipment, a few magazines...

Naruto stopped as he spotted a Jammin' Ninja manga in the pile of beauty magazines. Naruto was surprised! She was a fan of the series as well!

When he heard some mutterings in the hallway, Naruto hid behind Sakura's door to hear outside better. After a lull in noise, Naruto began to approach Sakura.

She was lightly pale, and her mutterings and moans were stemming from nightmares and her lifeforce was nearly drained from that demon's draining technique. Naruto had to think here, how was he going to wake her up and convince her of her copy fighting a demon that was probably invisible to her?

Taking a breath, Naruto grabbed the bare shoulder of Sakura and had to pull it back. A purple aura enveloped the girl as she began talking in her sleep and starting to moan even harder.

"No...why...? I...can't...hear myself? ahhh..." Sakura talked to herself as she began to lightly thrash around in her bed. Naruto tried to shake her awake, but the purple aura reacted to his hand and a jolt of electricity went up his arm, temporarily making his arm unresponsive.

"Crap...I can't move my arm..." Naruto said as he tried to shake his arm awake with his other arm. All the while, the purple aura began intensifying and knocking over things in the room such as pictures on the dresser or various make up objects.

"Ah great..." Naruto muttered as he dodged a shot of purple energy coming from the girl. As Naruto gave up on the girl being helped by normal means for now, he made his way to the open window when a sharp knocking and rattle of the bedroom door reached his ears. Not bothering to look back, Naruto dived through the opening as the door to Sakura's bedroom opened. He was helped to the ground by Kushina as Sakura's copy landed beside them with an orb of soft pulsing light held in her hand.

"What happened?" the copy asked.

"When I got near her, an aura of purple or something covered her. Before I knew it, the aura grew bigger and started to knock things over." Naruto explained as he rubbed his sore arm. The feeling was starting to come back little by little.

The copy looked pensive before she hummed.

"A purple aura...it may have been reacting to the loss of life energy I recovered just now. It was intent on restoring energy by any means necessary, even if it had to steal it from you." The copy pointed to Naruto's numb arm.

"Your arm is recovering because of your life energy reviving it, but whatever life that arm had, it has been absorbed by that aura. Whenever you see something like that, get away from her by any means possible." The demon paused before issuing a warning to the summoner.

"The aura grazed you, but you can be sure that next time, it will not stop at your arm." The copy said before looking upwards. A commotion of noises and talking and yelling were coming from Sakura's room.

"I'll wait nearby until the event upstairs is done before returning this lifeforce to her." The copy said as she hid in an alleyway. Naruto and Kushina, not wanting to be near the noise, followed her.

"Is that Sakura's lifeforce?" Naruto asked as he looked at the glowing ball. The copy nodded.

"Yes, I recovered nearly all of her drained lifeforce from the defeated demon. I will restore it when she is alone." The copy explained.

"Nearly all? Did you lose some to the demon?" Naruto asked., uneasy at the answer.

The copy put on a troubled face.

"Yes...when a demon invades a helpless victim by draining the lifeforce this way, it gathers it into this orb. However...it has to sample the lifeforce and permanently eats a tiny bit each time. Normally, this happens only once, but for this demon it has become an addiction to him. So with each invasion, he drains more and more of her lifeforce and permanently eats some "samples" each time." The demon explained, putting an angry look in the process.

"What about this demon? Do you know this opponent?" Naruto asked of the copy, who focused on the question and nodded.

"Yes, I know him as as Take-Minakata. He was a demon of the same clan as I was, a Kishin clansman. We actually fought side by side when our clan was threatened by rival clans. To see him become a drainer of life like a common ghoul is troubling for me." The copy said with a frown on her face. She then saw the lights go off in her host's room and she walked out into the open.

"We missed our chance due to new elements appearing. I will let you know when Take-Minakata tries again." The copy said as she flew to the broken windowsill, the noises long gone.

Naruto looked at the ground as he thought about his failure. He couldn't save Sakura's lifeforce fully by not waking her up. Granted, that aura stopped him, but he should have reacted faster. He wasted time looking around in her room than going straight for the girl and that cost her some unknown time in her lifeforce.

He couldn't stop feeling guilty about it.

"Lets go." Naruto said to a worried Kushina before walking off to his home. Kushina looked at him with a worried expression and could only think to herself if the boy was taking it too hard on himself. It was completely out of his control and he shouldn't have to worry about a setback this much...

**X-X**

When Naruto reported to Gouto late at night. Gouto only hummed before pacing around in the room.

"Naruto, your case has opened up new avenues of investigation. In order to proceed correctly, we have to fully investigate each new factor." Gouto paused at the look of shame Naruto had. Rolling his eyes he jumped on Naruto's head before scratching to the top of his idiot student's head. Naruto hissed in pain again as he glared at the cat, who looked impassively.

"Foolish boy, did you think everything would be solved by rushing into battle? You have to test the field, find possible answers and begin to form a plan. Just entering battle and expecting everything to resolve itself will get you killed faster than you can expect." Gouto said to the pain ridden boy, who's eyes widened at the words.

"Now, if you are done brooding we can move on to the case." Gouto said finally before noticing the tired look on Naruto's face. Gouto, having half a mind to force his student to listen for his brooding, took pity on him instead.

"We can discuss that tomorrow. Get some rest." He said softly before walking out of the room. Naruto, feeling dismissed on top of his tongue lashing via cat grew aware of his state of being. Naruto yawned at his tiredness and retired to bed, with Kushina following behind.

**X-X**

Naruto entered the classroom the next day with a sleepy look in his eyes and a slouch in his form as he sat in his regular seat in the back. He didn't seem to register Kiba's insult at all on his trudge up the stairs.

After Naruto slept through Iruka's lecture on how Konoha built the outer roads leading to the sea, he got woken up by Ino who was watching the tired boy sleep through the loud dismissal bell. After making sure Naruto was ok, Ino told him she had to help out in her family's flower shop and she wouldn't be able to stop by today.

Naruto was still tired from last night, but he figured a trip to his favorite restaurant would wake him up more.

**X-X**

Ayame and Teuchi Ichiraku were some of the most accepting people he had ever known. The father/daughter team ran the stand while being so friendly that Naruto could honestly say he felt more at home than his own real house sometimes. Maybe it was the company, or maybe it was the feeling of ease Naruto felt when talking with the pretty daughter and friendly father.

Or maybe it was...

"Ramen!" Naruto said happily as he took a seat in the small food stand. At his voice, Teuchi turned around from his cooking to smile at his long time customer. For if not of Naruto's constant visits, he wasn't sure if he would've kept up the stand for so long now.

Ayame smiled at the blond haired boy. She didn't tell anyone, but in the years before her mother's death, she was very depressed. Her depression during her grieving led to large bursts of anger against her classmates, so much so that she nearly dropped out of the civilian oriented school. That was before a younger newcomer came in with the Hokage.

_**X-X**_

"We-welcome Hokage-sama...how may I help you?" A younger Ayame addressed the powerful elder, her inexperience at greeting customers and the status of the old man breaking her down.

The Hokage smiled at the girl. His sympathies went with the girl who lost her mother. It was truly heartbreaking to see her mother fall to the local bandits.

"Old man! Can I get some ramen from the pretty girl?" the newcomer asked the "Old Man" directly. Ayame was shocked, how could anyone get away with calling such an honorable man like that?

When she peered over the counter to get a better look at the voice's owner, she was shocked at how the boy looked. His eyes were blue, like the sky. His hair was very spiky and silly looking, like if his hair was drawn at the last minute by a manga artist. However, his face showed innocence and a bit of mischievousness behind the look.

It reminded her of her mother.

In the background, Teuchi could see the incredulity on his daughter's face. He looked at the young boy and smiled, the young boy really did have some resemblance to his late wife.

"In a minute Naruto." The Hokage said with a smile to the boy, who's stomach rumbled a little. This led to a laugh from the girl, a laugh that she didn't ring out loud for a long time.

"What would you like, young man?" Ayame said to the young boy, her nervousness forgotten. The young boy looked at her for a minute before smiling at the pretty girl.

"Ramen!" The future patron said to the girl, who nodded and told her father the first of many orders to come...

_**X-X**_

"Hey there, Naruto! What special would you have this time?" Ayame said to the boy, her mind returning to the present. Naruto, in contrast to his energetic self, yawned.

"Just something to wake me up, Ayame-chan. I'll take four bowls of chicken, and three bowls of pork." He said while trying to stifle a yawn. It must have been the months of regulating his sleeping habits from Gouto's training, since his earlier days of pranking sometimes had him go all night to prepare.

"You must be tired, that's barely an appetizer for you!" Ayame said with a worried look, as she told her shocked father the un-Naruto like order to him.

After slowly waking up by eating each bowl of ramen, Naruto was up to his regular ramen eating self and talking animatedly to the relieved stand owners. He furthered relieved them by ordering a few more bowls of ramen, just enough to meet the regular Naruto quota of ramen intake.

Fully awake and full of ramen, Naruto was feeling content walking back to his home. He even felt that he could do some training with his Axe. That all changed when he saw a body collapsed on the road.

Getting closer, he was shocked when he saw a pale and unconscious Sakura on the floor. Her left hand was clutching a book.

"Naruto!" Naruto turned to see Ino running up to him. Her face showing that she also saw Sakura's prone form as well. Despite her terrible attitude earlier, Ino still had some ties of friendship to the pink haired girl.

Naruto, wondering what the hell the book was, pocketed the book before Ino caught up to him.

"Ino, help me get Sakura back to her home." He told the blond girl, who nodded and helped carry the unconscious girl back to her home.

**X-X**

As the duo were helping Sakura back to her home, Naruto could hear the murmurs between the curious audiences.

"Such a poor girl..." They said.

"I bet he had something to do with it!" Another murmured.

Naruto could only ignore them as he helped the girl. Now was not the time for him to wonder what they were talking about.

While Naruto was set to ignore the comments from the people, Ino overheard some of the comments and wondered why they were saying it. Why now? They were rather friendly or non-caring when she passed by in her shopping or hanging out with some of her other friends.

**X-X**

After Naruto and Ino carried Sakura back to a worried Sakura's mother (who seemed to be in turmoil whether or not to glare at the blond boy or thank him for her daughter's safe return), Ino was called into her family's flower shop by her mother. This left Naruto free to go back to his home to study the book he got from Sakura. Maybe this was a clue into her sudden change.

As he passed by Hinata, who was on her way to buy some groceries, he entered his house to see Gouto reading a newspaper (Kushina must have gotten one from somewhere, he thought to himself), and Kushina trying to manipulate some wind to play a rather catchy tune on a wind chime that he bought when he moved to his home.

"Hey Gouto-sensei, I found something!" Naruto called out to the cat, who looked up from his paper.

Naruto showed him the book he found on Sakura and opened it up for the cat. The cat read the book for a few moments before nodding to himself.

"This is very interesting...this book was from the archives of the Summoner's Hall." He said to the confused boy.

"What? Summoner's Hall?" He questioned of the cat.

"It is a place I will tell you more of when you mature as a disciple. Ever since the fall of the Yatagarasu so long ago, it is no secret that robbers or treasure hunters might have taken it as a trophy over the years." Gouto paused, looking at the book.

"This book was one of many in the libraries of the Yatagarasu used for demon research. This particular book was based on a set of demons that were neither classified or belonged to either of the demon clans." He continued as he flipped the book with his tail. Naruto wondered if centuries of being a spirit had Gouto use his tail as more than an extra appendage.

"These demons were part of a threat that cost the lives of many Devil Summoners and their demon partners in sealing them. There were nine demons who were created out of the spite of the defeated demons." Gouto gazed at Naruto's face as if trying to study his student. Naruto felt a bit out focus as the cat kept staring at him before stopping his gaze and kept explaining.

"These demons ranged from your average fiend to as bad as the rebel king himself, Lucifer. Each demon held a specific element that they lorded over each other demon of their kind. One can conduct earth into their will to attack one who stores the water on the earth itself. In turn, the demon who holds the water can attack the fire demon and so forth."

"The thing is, this book held such intimate details but also held a curse. Each devil summoner before you who read this will have a higher priority in being attacked by the random demon. In the hands of that girl from the which the copy resides...well you can guess that she's being assaulted by the nearby demon."

The cat snapped the book shut with its tail and sat in front of Naruto.

"You have discovered a vital clue in this investigation. However, the clue you have found doesn't seem to fit the case here. You will have to find more information to help the girl understand her dilemma, but first you must be able to penetrate the aura she puts up." Gouto finished explaining to the boy and began walking from the room. He was about to leave, but turned around and told the boy one other thing.

"I would suggest you use your resources to the maximum. Use them to find your answer."

Naruto sat silent, thinking over his teacher's words.

**X-X**

Soon enough, evening passed and Naruto was laying on his bed, wondering where he was in this case. He found a major clue, but it was irrelevant to the case. Or so he thought, he was just repeating his teacher's words trying to convince himself that it was the case.

Naruto turned to be on his side, no matter what he heard, he couldn't just dismiss the fact that the book had to be involved. A ninja sought deception above all else, or he wasn't a very good ninja at all. The book was in her hand, in the open for a reason, but for what?

Was she trying to say something? Was she looking for an answer in the book? Gouto warned that the book was filled with a curse that made him more probable to be attacked by random demons, but...

He stopped his thoughts and began to think in a more obvious way. What did he care if he was more likely to be attacked by demons? Wasn't that what he was trained for, fighting any demon that thinks they can set up shop in his village?

Naruto got up from his bed, to the gaze of a curious Kushina, he exited his room and into the living room where the book was kept. A real man, a real ninja, would never run from the odds. If there was one thing the Jammin' Ninja ever taught the boy, it was that without honor, there was no ninja.

Entering the living room, he was surprised to see Gouto with the book beside him.

"Are you prepared?" He asked simply of Naruto.

Naruto nodded.

"I can't let anything as petty as a curse stop me." He told the cat, who stared at him. He kept the gaze for a moment before moving away from the book, without a word.

Naruto took the book and opened it. He expected to feel some sort of pain or something to affect him, but there was no such thing when he opened the book. Flipping through it, he found various stories and lore about the local legends of Konoha. He found scant reports of the demons his teacher talked about but mostly it was the myths and histories of the demons that Gouto often taught Naruto about.

What really caught his eye however, was a certain passage in the book.

"_The Guardian of Law was known to never show compassion. The Guardian of the North was shown to have mercy on lost souls traveling in his direction. The Guardian of War cared little for his victories, only his method for producing the victory. The Guardian of Fortune was fortunate enough to know that each persona was him and he was they. It is that, which makes him the strongest."_

Naruto felt it, he had a piece of the answer in front of him. Now to find the rest.

'_That boy continues to amaze me...I shouldn't be surprised though.' _Gouto thought to himself as he watched his student march into a fate that was meant for him.

_'Raidou was exactly the same way.' _He finished with a smile. A smile that he felt would continue to grace his face for a long time to come.

**X-X**

The next day, Naruto exited the school much faster than anyone else and he made his way to the Hokage Tower. Aside from visiting the old man, Naruto had a very important mission to do. If the book was as old as Gouto said it was, than the old had to know something.

Stopping before the main doorways, Naruto wondered whether to go in all peaceful, or just go the way hes known for years?

Naruto grinned.

**X-X**

The Hokage was trying to delude himself. He really, really tried to think that the paperwork in front of him was smaller than it really was. All he had to do was sign or read one more paper and he would be done, he told himself. However, like a nightmare, it wouldn't end. If he signed a paper, the paper would clone itself to two more and then four, and then eight. It never ended!

What would he give for a interruption! If only his grandson, Konohamaru wouldn't try to "assassinate" him on his paperless days, he would be much more relaxed.

**CRASH!**

A large sound sounded from below along with some shouting and squawks of men and women trying to chase down whatever made the crash reached the aged man's ears. He smirked in satisfaction as the shouts and running of feet were reaching closer to his office. There truly was someone looking up for him up there.

A slamming of his double oak doors revealed a face he hadn't seen directly in a long time. The blond haired boy he had come to care for in his own way hadn't come here to spend time with him for a long time now, so he could be forgiven for his surprised look.

…

He could also be forgiven for his chuckling as the boy was tackled by the tired Chunin guardsmen in an attempt to subdue him.

**X-X**

After clearing up the mess Naruto made, The Hokage was surprised that he made all this ruckus just to ask him for an opinion on something he hadn't heard about ina very long while. If he remembered correctly, he hadn't heard this thing in about 25 years of his 75 years of life. At least not again at any rate.

The Guardian of Fortune was a very popular riddle when he was a child, but like men, they grew old and forgotten. To hear it from someone as young as Naruto was certainly surprising.

Guiding him to the answer was rather simple, since he knew the answer. All he did to give him the answer, was a riddle book that he often read to his grandson, Konohamaru. Sending the energetic lad on his way, The Hokage smiled before turning to the rest of his daily paperwork with a grimace.

At least he had his break...

**X-X**

Naruto was sure he had his second clue in this book. It was just a simple riddle book, but it had the riddle from that cursed book. It didn't have the answer outright, so had to find another source.

It was time to take a trip to the academy.

It was on the way to the academy, that Naruto found his third clue. Naruto found himself going through the shopping sector when his eyes caught a merchant cart selling marionettes. Naruto as a young boy always found puppets to be interesting and would always want a puppet of his own to play around with. It was always a shame when he couldn't afford the toys, since usually high class citizens of Konoha would spend large amounts of money for one.

What drew him to the puppet cart wasn't the desire of puppets, but a puppet encased in glass. It was very distinguished and had the most unique design. Four pairs of arms were positioned with one arm on the side of the body and one pointing in each direction.

One pointing North.

One pointing South.

One pointing East.

One pointing West.

The owner of the cart, seeing Naruto's eyes curious and interested in his pride and joy, walked over to the boy and stood next to him.

"You must be wondering what that puppet is? Almost everyone who comes to me asks about it."

Catching Naruto's attention, the owner pulled out a scroll he acquired when he bought the puppet from a merchant years ago. Judging from the string and battered form of the scroll, the puppet must have been very old to survive this long.

"I bought this puppet a long time ago when I was first beginning my merchant dream. This puppet is the source of my fortune, fame and luck. The heavenly puppet, Vaishravana. This puppet was sold to me as an act of trust, and therefore I treat it as such."

Naruto stared at the strange puppet with awe and yet could feel something coming from it. It was as if the puppet was alive somehow...

"This puppet was fashioned after one of the forms of Vaishravana. It is one of three and this represents Fortune. I've heard of the other two forms, but I do not know their names. I do know, however, that his other two forms represented war and law." He said with no real disappointment. Naruto stared at the puppet once more before thanking the man and leaving. The man just looked disappointed that he didn't sell a puppet to the boy, but he got over it and began advertising loudly once again to the populace.

**X-X**

Naruto was tired when he returned back home in the early evening. He found out that while listening to the puppet seller's story, the academy closed down for the day. With no help from Iruka, he trudged home instead remembering the story the puppet seller told him.

Entering his home, Naruto was greeted by Gouto, Kushina and Victor, who was reading the cursed book Gouto told him about. Rather than warning Victor, Naruto assumed that he just didn't care about curses or jinxes. He was a demon researcher after all, these kinds of things must be child's play to him.

"I found something new today." He told the crowd. Gouto and Victor looked up from the book and were watching him, as if grading him.

"What did you find out?" Gouto asked of his student.

"A story." He replied simply.

Victor's eyes were appraising. So this is what counted as a briefing of Devil summoners? Interesting...

"I came across a puppet cart and it had a story that fitted the clue that copy gave us. The owner said it was named Vaishravana, and it had two other forms." Naruto said to his audience and paused, wanting them to process his new information.

Gouto responded.

"So you believe that this puppet holds a clue to the case? Explain." He told his student, who nodded.

"I think this puppet had fit the clue of fortune, and the man told me while he knew of the other two forms, he didn't know the names. I think this may be related to the copy."

"How so?" Gouto asked, while Victor was writing notes on the secret interactions between student and master.

Naruto grinned, he had it now!

"I think that whoever Sakura's copy is, it is one of the forms that Vaishravana takes." He finished with a confident grin. Gouto mulled over the facts that his student discovered and thought along the road that his student was thinking before nodding to himself.

"I believe for your first time in this kind of case, you did as well as expected. It wasn't fully open to you, but you did remarkable with your limited resources." Gouto said as Naruto looked away, a bit embarrassed at the praise.

"So it is time to put together the clues. The identity of Sakura's demon copy is begun with the riddle. According to your research, you believe that a puppet's name holds something significant to that identity." Gouto began his synopsis.

Naruto nodded, his clue searching abilities being put together by his teacher. He wondered if in the future, that he will have to do this by himself? He would probably have to.

"Vaishravana is the name of the puppet, and he fits most of the riddle that copy gave us. Fortune, War and Law. The North we have to assume is the first and final clue given in order to ascertain the identity. All that is left is to find our name for the copy and we will be done for the most part." Gouto said as he tapped the table in a straight line, as if to help himself mentally in tallying the clues together.

"So, what is the last door needed to find the name?" Gouto asked his student, testing his perception and knowledge of this building case. Naruto closed his eyes and began looking at this carefully. He didn't want to mess up now and look like a big fool.

"I'm thinking it might be the name Vaishravana, my gut feeling tells me that, so I'm sticking to it." Naruto said to the cat, who nodded at his opinion. After a tense moment of silence, Gouto spoke up.

"If Vaishravana is the name of the copy, we will have to focus on how to make the girl awaken from her slumber and say Vaishravana's name during their battle. The case will not end if we can't even begin acting on our findings."

"I may have a solution." Victor said for the first time, his notebook about the fascination between student and apprentice devil summoner long hidden away in Victor's coat.

"If the aura around it is like a vacuum for human life, why doesn't Naruto here find a demon that will...fool the aura into thinking its a life form?" Victor asked of the rapt duo. Gouto closed his eyes for a moment, evaluating what the scientist said.

"I suppose that is possible...but Kushina doesn't have anything in her repertoire of spells that could fool such an aura. However, there is one other option..." Gouto trailed off as he looked to a confused Naruto. Naruto, for his part stayed confused before deciphering the hidden meaning and backing away.

"Nonononono...you are not saying-?" He was cut off by Gouto, who merely nodded.

"Indeed, we will have to requisition assistance from the fairy queen, Titania and the fairy king, Oberon once more."

Naruto sighed, he really didn't want anyone else involved, but he had a case here. He would have to take any form of help if he wanted to solve it.

**X-X**

Naruto was rather surprised at how quickly he found Neji and his two guardians. Neji was in the final stages of his training with who Naruto supposed were his teacher and teammates. Oberon and Titania were standing and sitting in the sidelines offering tips of opportunity from Oberon and moral support from Titania. After Neji emerged victorious over the other two children, the large muscular teacher told them they were dismissed and promptly left the clearing. The other two students, who still nursing some wounds, left together supporting each other back to the hospital for treatment. After watching his teammates go, Neji turned to see Naruto, which was a rarity as he rarely ever got to see him outside of a classroom setting.

"What brings you here, Naruto-san?" Neji asked the waiting boy, who was still watching the beaten duo leave. Neji pondered whether he went too hard on both his teammates, but like Oberon and his teacher said, any pain you can stand back up from is a lesson well learned in life.

"...Well I'm going to start off by saying that I am not like everyone else." Naruto began before looking past Neji. Neji, seeing the direction he was staring at within the corner of his eye, had his eyes widen at the implication.

"_You can see them?" _His words seemed stressed, surprised and likely angry at the summoner. Naruto must have thought he was the only one who could and would've sympathized with had he not known about them with Ino following behind.

Now that he thought about it, only Hinata didn't seem to know about the supernatural world, but she could see Gouto, so that was a start.

"Yeah, I've seen them for a long time but now is not the time for this!" Naruto corrected his trailing off. He had a mission to do!

"I need Titania's help." He asked of Neji, who forgot his indignation and replaced it with confusion.

"Titania? What do you need her for?" He asked the summoner.

"I have something to do and I need her help, that's all." Naruto said simply, not wanting to go into more detail. However, Neji wouldn't let up. Especially not after he found out he wasn't alone in seeing the kinds of things he can see.

"You'll have to tell me more, I won't let her go if you think you can get away with saying so little." Neji said, frowning at the younger boy.

Naruto was at a loss. He had to wonder whether or not to tell him about this...profession. He seemed for all purposes, the same as him. He didn't have a sword or a revolver like him, but he has a contract with demons like him. More demons in fact than him for that matter!

I suppose he can let him help on this one case...

"Alright, what I'm about to tell you is top secret, no one can know about this..."

**X-X**

In the evening, after Neji told Hinata he was visiting Naruto on personal business, Naruto and Neji were talking about the case. Neji was skeptical, but with Titania telling him that such things were commonplace in the past, he kept his future comments to himself.

"Ok...we have Titania dealing with the barrier, now to convince Sakura to say the demon's true name." Naruto said while writing on a piece of paper. The paper had vital points and information written about what Naruto found out. Naruto had everything checked out, but he couldn't be sure about the name of the demon. It was related, but he wasn't sure if it was the true name...

"Why do we have to convince Sakura of saying this demon's name? Can't we tell her about it and make her say it?" Neji asked. Naruto had to admit that Neji brought on a valid point. The whole convincing thing that Sakura's copy went about was a little redundant.

Titania however had the answer to that question though.

"When families acquire a contract with a demon or a demon clan, they can be only told directly through family members themselves. It is stated when an outsider tells the clan member instead of a family member, the demon inside loses its sanity and ultimately kills the heir of the demon. So if you find the answer, you'll have to give it to this girl in a riddle and have her answer it."

Both Naruto and Neji's eyes widened at the revelation, such a consequence was certainly not wanted. Naruto understood why he couldn't say anything directly. He didn't want Sakura's blood on his hands after all.

"I sense something...something powerful." Kushina whispered to Naruto as her eyes were getting sharper. Her pose getting rigid, as if expecting a fight. Neji, who was surprised when Naruto told him she was his contracted partner, looked with interest as Kushina went from ladylike to battle ready.

It was interesting to watch overall.

"I am getting a feeling of fighting...a large amount of energy is gathering somewhere east of here." Titania voiced her concern aloud as she looked to where the energy was gathering. Neji noted that she seemed to be looking through the wall for there was no window for him to look through.

If he trained with her and Oberon, would he be able to do the same thing?

"I think Sakura's copy is fighting that demon again! How come she didn't send warning?" Naruto wondered to himself as he gathered his sword and equipment. Neji was already going outside and following Titania as she flew to the scene.

Naruto, finding Neji missing swore as he ran to catch up to him, looking to the skies for Titania. Kushina was also high in the skies, her white wings flapping in the air.

**X-X**

Reaching the familiar battle site, Naruto could see Titania helping against the armless demon, Take-Minakata, by using intense green wind spells to distract the demon while Sakura's copy was striking from the demon's blind spots.

Kushina herself looked toward Naruto before joining the fight. Naruto sensed that Take-Minakata was much stronger than before. He looked like he could easily take all three of them.

Naruto looked away from the fight and spotted Sakura's house, which had an open windowsill this time around. Naruto called back Kushina as he asked her to lift him back to the windowsill. Kushina seemed to be more than eager (perhaps of being in battle after so long) as she easily lifted both Neji and Naruto to the windowsill.

"Was she always like this?" Neji asked Naruto as he watched the red haired angel. Her strength was much more than her lithe frame showed. He also watched how long her wings were, as she seemed to hide them when back at the complex.

"Only when she's fighting." Naruto said simply as he recounted his spars with his partner. Her strength seemed to multiply two fold as her physical strikes hurt more than usual.

Finding Sakura was simple as before for Naruto. He found her still in bed, but her aura didn't manifest as he got near her. When he felt her face with his hand, he found out why.

Her face and her hands were entirely cold.

Naruto's mind was at full speed considering the outcomes of such a feeling. Was she dead?

"She feels so cold..." Naruto said softly. Neji, however, wanted to make sure.

"Byakugan!" Neji said in a harsh whisper as his eyes bulged and focused enough for Naruto to make out a shadow of a pupil on his eyes. It was intimidating if you were the target of his gaze, that was for sure.

"Her pulse is weak...but she lives. She seems to missing a large portion of her chakra reserves. Could it be that the monster drained it?" He asked of Naruto, who nodded. It was probably what that demon said about her lifeforce.

So the demon liked chakra?

Wait...what did that copy say about the aura? It had to restore the energy somehow...oh crap!

"Neji! Move!" Naruto shouted, not caring about who he woke now. Neji was already moving as the purple aura began manifesting with a vengeance. It was reacting violently as it tried to grab Naruto or Neji for their respective lifeforce reserves. Neji and Naruto dodged them desperately as they made their way for the window, however, the aura seemed desperate to absorb their lifeforce as it intercepted them before they could get away.

"What is this? Is it alive?" Neji questioned as a single ray of light kept lunging at them, most likely to begin absorbing whatever it caught. After deciding on the stronger of the dual lifeforce in its presence, it lunged for Naruto, who brought out his sword to try and deflect it.

The sword itself began shining with a blue light as it formed into an Axe when the ray shot toward Naruto. The ray of light slammed into the the Axe before retreating to the aura covering the windowsill.

"Neji, get behind me!" Naruto shouted to Neji as he blocked another attempt at absorption by the ray of purple light. Naruto only hoped that the aura didn't make another area behind them, he can't block all the sides at once!

**X-X**

Titania was having a hard time trying to defeat the enraged demon in front of her. Even with the angel Kushina, and Sakura's copy, it was all they could do to stop the demon from dashing in and absorbing whats left of the poor girl. The copy told them that it absorbed a large amount of life energy before engaging in battle with it and that explained its advanced strength.

Still, it had nothing on her years of experience. It was probably a demon who wanted a quick powertrip...

Pitiful...it shall soon be the last lesson he'll remember for trying to take a shortcut!

"Dodge! He is using Mazio!" Sakura's copy shouted out as all three combatants flew in different direction as Take-Minakata's move took form in a large yellow beam coming from his mouth. What was different about this attack was that it was beginning to affect the real world of Konoha. The ground near the buildings was creating trenches as the attack was swung in a pendulum motion.

"That isn't good..." Sakura's copy muttered as she began concentrating for another attack. It looks like she can't hold it off for much longer as the demon would soon go after normal people's lives to satiate its hunger.

"Titania! Help out the summoner and your master. I think they may be attacked by Sakura's aura!" She shouted toward Titania. Titania nodded and flew off toward the afflicted girl's house.

Titania entering the room was something of a blessing for Neji and Naruto as the rays of light were coming faster and faster with more rays hitting Naruto's Axe. It also took a toll on Naruto's grip as the lights seemed to try and knock off the weapon by using blunt force.

Titania didn't need to be told what to do as she began chanting a spell while glowing a soft blue light. A moment later, the purple aura faded back into a still cold Sakura.

"I can restore some life to the girl, but you will only have enough time as long as the spell lasts." Titania said to the duo, who nodded.

Titania began glowing in a soft white light, like Kushina does when she chants a healing spell during their spars.

"Light of soft heavens...hear my call! Restore this hungry form, the life it needs!" Titania's soft light grew intense for one second, like a flash from the flashlight.

"Diarama!"

A moderate white light enveloped Sakura's form as her color began returning to her face. Soon afterward, she opened her eyes in confusion before seeing Naruto and Neji.

"Gyahh! What are you doing here?" She screamed at the duo, who were startled and tried listening for her parents.

"Woah...hold on-" Naruto tried explaining but it seemed to enraged the pink haired girl.

"You! You pervert!" Sakura said as she stalked toward a scared Naruto. Neji noted that this was the unholy rage of the woman in its strongest form and he really hoped that he would never be the victim of it.

A sound from outside stopped Sakura and suddenly the anger disappeared from her face. It was barely a second after the sound happened that the window to Sakura's room imploded inwards. Sakura screamed at the noise and Naruto covered her with the cloak on him. When the dust cleared, a stunned Sakura saw a perfect copy of her lying sprawled on the floor.

"W-what's happening? Who is that?" Sakura asked of Naruto, who was looking over the copy's body.

"It looks like she is still alive...can you heal her Titania?" He asked of Titania who nodded.

"Who is Titania?" Sakura asked, getting a bit irked at being ignored.

"Now is not the time to ask about that. First, we have to tell you something." Naruto told the girl as he watched Titania chant the healing spell once again.

"This person lived inside of you for a long time now. She was your ancestor's guardian demon and for months now, she has been protecting you from that." Naruto pointed at Take-Minakata. Sakura stared in horror as the demon seemed to be the stuff that nightmares came from.

"She can't keep this up forever, and has asked me for help." Naruto said, making her focus on him.

"What can you do?" Sakura asked, her shock wearing off, but still confused at the whole thing.

"Nothing, except wake you up. The next part is up to you." Naruto answered to the girl, who took on a startled look.

"What? What can I do?" Sakura was completely lost on how she could help against that monster in the sky.

"Well, from what she said, you need to tell her true name or else she can't unlock her powers." Naruto recounted from their first meeting.

"What is her name?" She asked.

"That's the thing...I can't tell you." Naruto said sheepishly. Sakura grew enraged, their lives were at stake and he can't tell her a freaking name?

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" She growled out, her anger returning full force.

"Naruto can't tell you because if he does, we all die." Neji cut in, trying to save the situation from getting worse. Sakura looked confused at the answer.

"If he tells you the copy's name, the copy will go insane and kill you and us. Only family members of the demon's original contract holders can tell you. We hope you know the name, this isn't going to end well if you don't." Neji said seriously, making Sakura freak out.

"I never heard of such a thing! I don't even know if my parents even know about a demon!" Sakura was getting scared and panicked. Their lives depended on a demon's true name? How did she get into this mess in the first place?

Naruto was at a loss, but in a moment of insight, he got an idea.

"Sakura!" He shouted to grab the panicking girl's attention. Her hysteria stopped for a moment after her name was called out and stared terrified at Naruto, didn't that boy say he couldn't say her copy's name?

"What ancient being is of the north, is guardian of the law and war, and holds fortune in his hand?" He asked of the girl, trying to remember as much of the riddle from the book.

Sakura had to wonder what was going on in his head, a riddle of all things?

"What?" She voiced her indignation at such a random question.

"Just answer it!" Naruto said to the girl. Sakura, deciding to humor him, guessed an answer.

"Tamonten?" She answered. Naruto looked toward the copy and didn't notice any significant change on the copy. It looked it wasn't the right answer.

"Nope, try again." He told Sakura. She was getting irritated by now that he wasn't taking this dire situation seriously.

"This is getting annoying...Vaishravana?" She guessed another name. This time, the copy seemed to glow faintly but no other change was visible to Naruto's eyes.

"It looks like that name isn't it...what other name could there be?" Naruto asked Neji, who shrugged, not familiar with the riddle himself. Sakura however noticed the faint glow and began searching her memories for a name connected with Vaishravana.

"Is it Bishamon?" She told the unconscious copy, who began glowing brighter. Naruto thought she was on the right track. It was all the guess time she would have as a very loud roar diverted the attention.

Take-Minakata was charging a large beam of yellow energy at them and Kushina was doing all she could by herself in trying to distract the demon. Take-Minakata didn't even acknowledge the diversion tactics and instead began charging the devastating beam.

"We're too late!" Neji said as he looked toward the focal point of the beam.

Titania was chanting a spell of what looked like a barrier but it was too late as the demon roared once more before releasing the energy beam at the group.

Naruto only stared as the bright light enveloped the group. He could only think about how he had trained so hard only to fall before an armless freak's supermove...

Neji wondered if the fates decreed it so for him to fall...but he had hoped for a more brighter future than this...

Sakura was still thinking at another name and had the name escape from her mouth before the energy enveloped them all.

**X-X**

A large explosion rocked the area as Take-Minakata looked for the end result of his ultimate attack. He had waited such a long time and the master spell, Ziodyne was finally in his grasp!

Kushina stared in horror as the explosion enveloped his partner and for a second, she could feel the connection between summoner and partner falter.

She was relieved and confused however, when the connection restored itself suddenly.

**X-X**

Naruto really thought they bit the dust but when he opened his eyes, he was shocked along with Neji and Sakura.

Sakura's copy had a barrier in front of him but she had a more pronounced feel to her. She began glowing brighter and brighter before a flash occurred and Sakura's copy was no more.

Instead a large man like demon had replaced the copy. His black hair was standing in protest to gravity as it stood rigidly upwards in a flame like look. His red skin was shown only on his face and hands as the rest of his body was protected by heavy armor with a long white sash acting as a pseudo vest. A large trident like spear was gripped in his right hand as his left hand was erecting the barrier. His eyes were a furious red as he looked toward the shocked Take-Minakata.

The demon was appalled that his strongest attacked was blocked so easily and now it was angry when he couldn't summon the energy for another attack.

The former copy only growled as he began glowing a white light. He banished his spear and the barrier. He swung his hands with enough force to rock the nearby windows on other homes as he shouted out his attack.

"_Thunderclap!_" The large man said as he clapped his hands. Naruto and Neji looked toward the skies and found a gathering of clouds above Take-Minakata before a bolt of lightning struck the unsuspecting demon.

The large man only smirked as he summoned his spear again and began staring intently at the stunned Take-Minakata. The spear on his hand grew a brilliant white as he prepared his legs to jump.

After rocketing at incredible speeds to the stunned demon, the large man shouted with what seemed to be all his might at Take-Minakata. He pulled his spear back as he shouted out with a deep voice.

"_Akasha Arts!_" He stabbed the demon with enough force to break many of the windows of the neighborhood Sakura lived on. Take-Minakata roared in pain as twin beams of light erupted from his body before the large man appeared behind him.

"It is time for you to rest, clan brother...the purest flames will send your soul towards the light! _Maragidyne! _He spoke with a power behind him as the weakened demon started to glow a bright red before igniting him with red hot flames so hot that even Naruto felt the heat from the ground.

Strangely enough, Take-Minakata was smiling in a peaceful way as the flames ate away at his body. It seemed glad that he was able to rest for so long after what seemed to be his nightmare as well.

After the flames burned out in the sky, the large man flew down to Sakura, who was in awe of the man. Was this living inside of her all this time?

The large man smiled gently at the girl before becoming transparent and transforming into a ball of light. The ball of light floated for a moment before entering Sakura's body. The effect was instantaneous as the girl gasped and appeared more alive. Even Neji could see that her skin and hair was more vibrant than before.

"What did you say?" Naruto asked of Sakura. Sakura smiled gently, like if she had been enlightened. Which to Naruto, it could very well be the case.

"I said his true name...his name was..." Naruto waited for the name.

"Bishamonten...that was his name." Sakura said before taking a good look at her room. Her calm demeanor instantly disappeared as she began panicking once again.

"My room! Its a crater!" She wailed as she tried to salvage what she could. Her closet of fashionable clothes were spared from the destruction at least. But her mirror, her magazines, her bed! They were all but cinders and even the door to her room was charred black and broken.

"What am I going to do? How am I going to explain this to my parents?" She asked in her panic. Naruto and Neji however, didn't want to be the target of her ire as both of them jumped down through the opening and escaped into the night. Sakura's shout of "HEY!" was heard as the duo and their partners escaped in different directions and into the shadowed streets of Konoha.

**X-X**

When Naruto told Gouto of what had happened, the cat was very surprised at what the demon's true name was before nodding at the end of Naruto's report.

"Well done. Your investigation skills improved dramatically and you found another avenue of skills pertaining to being a true devil summoner. Keep this up, and you'll be up there with the greatest of summoners." He congratulated his student and partner. Naruto cheered while Kushina laughed along in joy at another case closed. It was their most challenging case yet and they just knew that there was going to be much more cases than this...

They couldn't wait for the next one!

**Alright! This is the closing chapter of this case! I would like to thank you readers for keeping up with me so far, and hope that you'll stay with me as I continue on!**

**Well, out of all the readers, only two were able to guess it right! Although I expected more attempts, most of you just tried once and left at that.**

**Therefore, I only got two correct readers to thank for getting it right.**

**They are:**

**Recovery one with two attempts**

**and**

**DevilJin17 in one try!**

**Congratulations to both for participating in the game and I hope more of you will go for the next challenge in the future!**

**I've got nothing on the observations sector, so I'll just leave it at that and write on the next case soon enough!**

**Laters!**

**Terra Ace**

**Ps: The total word count (including this message is : 9708)! Thats big!**

**FutureStamp ©: Here is another fixed version, nothing changed except for clumsily laid words and broken sentences and fragments!**

**Also: Word Count (revised) is: 9486! A little lean, but still acceptable! Like future chapters, this count wasn't included with bold words!**


	12. Prelude

Devil Summoner Naruto

and Terra Ace Presents...

Chapter 12:

The Prelude

For a few weeks, almost a month, all was quiet. Not a sound of adventure or trouble since Sakura's Copy, Bishamonten, enlisted his help and Neji's.

A few weeks since, that he, Naruto had been practically working for free for Sakura. Trying to repair what's left of her room.

Sakura was a lot of things: A Sasuke fan girl, a pink haired beauty (depending on the people you asked…), a "Forehead Girl" (Ino), but what she wasn't? Stupid.

After she calmed down (and her shocked parents), she instantly tracked down _both _Naruto and Neji at once and forced them on the promise of pain of death if they refused (both boys agreed that she would actually go through with it) to help fix her room.

From what Naruto and Kushina had gathered, the local contractors had estimated that her room was the result of an unfortunate gas leak and that she was in obvious shock because they didn't believe for a second that she was in the room when the room itself imploded from an ill-fated spark from her electrical socket.

At least that what was the head of the "local contractors", a person named Foreman Victor, reported on the "official" records sent to the Hokage Tower.

As a result, Sakura was conveniently pleased to find out a local complex had begun renting out empty rooms and that one particular person was living in the same area she had found…

Naruto!

It helped of course, that the rent was so cheap as well at the complex.

On a completely unrelated matter, something that had absolutely no impact on their decision, the complex stopped accepting potential clients as soon as she rented out the room. Quite the oddity that was, but she wasn't complaining.

Since they were single studio rooms, Sakura's parents had to stay with some relatives while their home was reconstructed from the ground up to prevent future mishaps.

While Naruto was beginning to sleep with one eye open, Sakura was amazed that the room she rented out was so spacious! It didn't come without some awkward moments however.

Like yesterday for instance…

**X-X**

"Sakura-san?" A voice spoke in surprise while she was moving in some things. Sakura instantly turned to the sound of the voice and found an unlikely tenant.

"Ah…Hinata…" She said slowly. She and Hinata weren't on good terms since that whole fiasco with the beat down Hinata gave her (which she denied doing so). As a result, they rarely spoke with each other.

After a silence, both began to speak.

"Ah…Um!" They both said at the same time, mostly to speak each others name. It was as far as they got, however since both turned around in panic and began to ignore each other again, with Hinata going to her very own room in the complex and Sakura back to itemizing her stuff from the boxes.

**X-X**

Naruto, in the meantime, was reading a newspaper of all things. Gouto was supposedly training him in reading current events in order to spot unusual things that could not be explained, even in ninja terms. Personally to Naruto, he thought he was just reading a newspaper because his teacher wanted him to stop reading 'Jammin' Ninja!'

Naruto scoffed, as if that will ever happen!

Back to the newspaper, he could have sworn that Gouto was glaring at him for not reading the newspaper. That cat was harsh, but effective in his training methods.

"Let's see…" Naruto muttered as he scanned the pages of the newspaper. He skimmed through the headlines and was soon getting very bored. How do the adults get by reading this stuff? It was so much better to go find out events than just reading about them!

Family wins local lottery, 600,000 yen awarded…Naruto whistled softly, that was a lot for a family.

20 % local produce and ramen… Naruto would've jumped at it, except his allowance couldn't cover the prices. Gouto had seen to manage the finances for Naruto (read: Dictate) and allowed him a fraction of the money for personal use. Naruto sighed; the allowance barely covered three bowls of ramen…

Moving on, he read to the bottom of the page. It was just full of advertisements for food, furniture or "special services" which could mean from the red light district to official advertisements from the ninja sector sanctioned by the Hokage.

Speaking of the Hokage, Naruto hadn't visited him lately. He wasn't sure if the Hokage was saddened or relieved, though.

Nah, the Hokage was sad that he wasn't visiting him. That had to be it! He would make sure to visit him later on.

As his eyes scanned the newspaper once more, he noticed something was off. Reading the newspaper a few more times and seeing the same thing, he thought it was a trick of the light, except…

Hold on… Naruto gazed at a small article near the bottom of the page which read:

"Local Family Ruined by Ghosts!"

Reading on with interest, Naruto learned that the family was complaining of ghosts for some time now. The rest of the neighborhood didn't believe them and soon after, the family fled when their home suddenly vanished while they were away. There was no trace of their home, not even the foundation it was built on! It was if the home was never there…

Could it be? Did the house vanish through a portal to Dark Konoha?

Naruto stood up. He was itching for adventure for a while now!

"Gouto-sensei!" He called out to his teacher, to which the cat came calmly out from the other room. Kushina came out a few minutes later, with her own newspaper in hand. Naruto noticed however, that it was turned to the jokes that this paper was known to publish.

"Have you found something, Naruto?" Gouto asked of his student. He had known about the strange article ahead of time, since he read the paper often. He just had to make that a habit in his student since not all cases are approached as often as his earlier cases did.

Listening to Naruto, Gouto silently praised his student at how strange the article really was and his conclusions. He was coming along well and would be a fine Summoner if he kept up the pace that Gouto was setting for him.

"I see. Well, get yourself ready and head out. I'll keep an eye on both girls while you are away." He said with a smirk. The effect was lost on Naruto as he looked on confused. Gouto sighed, he wasn't at that age yet, but he could have sworn that his student was soft on all three girls. The odd girl, the pink one and even more so, the blond one.

He briefly wondered how many girls the boy would keep on attracting to his side, given that the boy was completely clueless…for now anyways.

Gouto shuddered; he didn't want to go through that again, not with another student at least.

As Naruto was gearing up, Gouto heard a knock on the door. Given that he was a being of many talents, Gouto jumped on various furniture pieces before using his tail to turn the knob.

He expected the odd one or the blond one, but not the pink one. She looked at the cat closely and oddly at how he could have possibly opened the door. Gouto wondered and tested his theory with one word.

If he was right, the girl would just hear a meow, but if he was wrong…

"Yo." He said.

She screamed in surprise.

Naruto came out, fully armed and ready to fight, but was surprised when he saw his teacher and a very pale Sakura.

Sakura spoke, a shaky start to her voice.

"N-naruto…your cat just spoke…" She said, very wary of the cat. Gouto himself was wondering at how often another came along.

Naruto, so used to the supernatural, only shrugged. He didn't have time to explain, so in a hurry, he said:

"You could understand him? Huh, thought only we were able to understand him." He said nonchalantly, as if talking about the weather. Sakura herself was gaping at how casual the boy was being, but caught on one word.

"We?" She asked, wondering who could also know such knowledge.

Naruto nodded, while sheathing his weapon. The answer was surprising to her.

"Yeah, me and Ino-chan."

Sakura gaped once more, Ino could understand the cat? How come she never told her?

"I would talk about it, but I've got to go. Have something to do, let's go Kushina!" He called out and Sakura was further shocked when a winged teenager followed him with a grin not unlike Naruto was known to sport when he did a prank.

Looking at the talking cat for a while, she couldn't think of anything to say. Finally, she heard the cat sigh and move to the kitchen.

"You might as well sit down, I'll go prepare some tea…" the cat said with a casual walk to his step. Sakura was stiff, this was some first day…she couldn't even wonder how a cat of all things could prepare tea, let alone talk.

**X-X**

As Sakura was doing her therapy with Gouto, Naruto was walking briskly to where the site of the "vanished house". He couldn't sprint because there were too many people around and he didn't need any more attention. He was sure he couldn't go on the roofs, because of two things.

One, he couldn't jump over roofs, since he didn't know how.

Two, he was sure he would be picked off the sky in mid jump by patrolling ninja.

So ground routes it was. Remembering where the vanished building was, he had to go through the gambling sector of Konoha. It wasn't the most clean of places, but you could count on legitimate gambling…in the daytime at least.

Fortunately it was early afternoon, and they let all sorts of people through the road. It was the nighttime where they barred minors from traveling the roads. Casinos often opened in the nighttime and they didn't want young minds being corrupted too early. At least that was their official stance.

Passing through the Shopping District, he was sure to meet up with Ino here. This was practically her home away from home.

"Hey!" A feminine voice called out behind him, as predicted. Naruto smiled, he was right as he saw his fellow blonde calling out and waving to him.

Ino was, of course, doing her shopping. With one free hand, she waved at her friend and on the other hand, a bag with clothing in it.

"Hey Ino, what's in the bag?" He asked of the girl. Ino herself however put on an air of embarrassment as she lightly blushed and swatted away his gaze from her bag.

"Oh, just some personal things…ha ha ha ha!" Ino said as she hid her bag away from the boy. She didn't want Naruto to see what was inside, it would ruin the surprise.

Changing the subject, Ino went on the offensive.

"So, what adventure are you on this time? Something exciting?" She gushed at the possibility of something adventurous. She hadn't been on one in a long time now, so seeing Naruto like this was a hopeful sign.

"Just checking out a rumor, Ino-chan." Naruto said casually. Being with Ino left him relaxed around her and allowed him to talk about his line of study. That being because she was with him on his first big adventure.

"Oh? Can I come?" Ino asked; an unnecessary action in Naruto's mind. He was sure she would invite herself in regardless of his answer.

"Nothing I say would change the outcome, huh Ino-chan? Yeah, you can come." He said to a victorious Ino. She would have come anyways, but it was nice if he would've had said yes.

"Oh wait, hold on! I have to put this away first…don't want nothing to ruin this!" Ino said with a smirk. She held out the bag that Naruto was staring at earlier.

"What is in the bag, anyways?" Naruto asked again, as with earlier. Ino directed his gaze from the bag to her face.

"Nuh-uh! I said just some personal things!" She said, with a light blush. Naruto guessed she really didn't want him to find out…

"Is it…" Naruto trailed off to whisper in Ino's ear. Her eyes went from widened surprise to blushing embarrassment.

"It's not THAT!" Ino said angrily and smacked the boy's back of the head harshly, sending him to the ground. Naruto groaned from the floor as he nursed a stinging smack from Ino's hand. All he asked if it was just some…girl accessories. What was wrong with him asking about some earrings?

Unfortunately, Ino didn't take "girl accessories" like that…

**X-X**

During Naruto's departure, Sakura was still shocked at two things. One was that Naruto, Ino and possibly Hinata could talk to a talking cat.

The other? The cat made the best damn tea she ever drank.

"So…I suppose you are still surprised about me, eh?" The talking cat addressed her. Sakura, still wary of the cat, simply nodded.

"Well, do not worry; I don't harm humans…except my idiot student sometimes." Gouto said calmly. Sakura could only stare as the cat used its tail to sip some tea. Naruto had one talented cat…

Wait…student? This cat is a teacher?

"Wait, student? You are a teacher?" Sakura voiced her thoughts to the cat. The cat, unsurprised at the girl's skepticism only stared back at the girl. It looks like his student knew some very special people.

"Yes, I am a teacher. Of what, you ask? That is a secret." He said carefully. Sakura only stared with a slight narrowing of eyes.

"I believe you aren't telling me everything. Your secret study involves that winged girl, doesn't it?" She asked the cat.

'Impressive…she got that only from seeing a few things and hearing a few words…' Gouto thought approvingly of the girl. She was sharper than Naruto, but only that. Her physique was lacking, even for a female disciple. He doubted that she even met the strength requirements for being a ninja student in her academy either.

Perhaps her strength lied elsewhere…

He decided to probe further.

"Tell me, pink haired one… what are you studying in your academy?" Gouto asked of Sakura. He very well knew each girl's name that revolved around Naruto. He just found it easier to assign hair color or personality quirk to each girl.

"Well…" Sakura hesitated. She began studying about how enemy ninja used disguises ranging from inanimate objects to actual people using chakra energy. It could very well be that this cat was a disguise…

"Wait…how can I tell you aren't some ninja looking for secrets?" Sakura said, unable to hold her accusations any longer. Gouto noted that while it was more professional to keep such accusations and secrets under wraps until a much more opportune time, she was still a student in her academy and not as professional as a full blown ninja.

"Well, let's test your theory." He answered the girl.

"Huh?" asked the confused girl.

"I am sure your academy must have something that would dispel such a technique. I will allow you to do that to me and ease your fears." The cat answered in a crisp and clear manner. Sakura could tell that it wasn't the first time the cat dealt with ninja kind.

Sakura racked her memory for such a technique. She then remembered that the Kai or cancellation technique could dispel the henge, or transformation technique. She also recalled that touching a target and focusing one's inner chakra can dispel the target's disguise.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked to the cat. Remembering the steps to dispel a disguise, she shakily reached her hand to touch the cat. When she got near the cat, Gouto decided to have some fun with her head.

"Boo!" Gouto said suddenly. Sakura freaked out at the sudden expression with a scream and backed away. Gouto chuckled at the childish, yet effective prank.

"Alright, alright…I won't say anything else. You may do your experiment." Gouto calmed the girl, who was even more wary of the cat, if that was possible.

Reaching to touch the cat, which made no movement this time, she began to focus her chakra. She noted that it came more easily than before, and wondered if Bishamonten had something to do with it.

"Kai!" She said aloud. A burst of small energy enveloped both her and Gouto for a second. After waiting a small while, Sakura couldn't detect any changes on the cat...which meant that…

This cat was the real deal!

"Now, are you convinced? I am possibly the only talking cat in this universe." Gouto said, withholding a small fact about his statement. Omitting a small detail, he never said he was the only talking _animal_…

"Wow…this is unreal…" Sakura said softly. How could Naruto meet such a wonder? This was truly fascinating!

"I have so many questions, can I ask them?" She said suddenly, her eyes hungry for answers. Gouto noted that it was a thirst of knowledge in the sense that she wanted to learn all about her world, but with no real direction or ambition to use such knowledge. He figured that she didn't have a goal in mind if he were to answer her questions.

So he decided to tease this seeker and make it that she choose a path if she wanted such intimate knowledge.

"I suppose I can answer a few questions." He began.

"Really? Then I…" Sakura began, but Gouto cut her off.

"But know this: I want you to find a reason for such knowledge. I will not answer any question I deem worthy of answering if you have no such reason worth pursuing such knowledge. If you have no path, I have no answer." Gouto warned the girl, who looked humbled.

Sakura was shocked, did she have such reason? Did you need a reason to learn knowledge? Her mind wanted to answer that she had an answer. However, in the presence of such a wise being, Sakura doubted that even a reason such as Sasuke-kun was enough.

"I…" She began, unsure of her next words. Gouto, who was studying her reactions to his warning, only waited patiently.

"I don't have a reason, I thought I did though." She answered honestly. There was no need to lie to the cat, she was sure that he would catch such a lie easily.

She had no idea how right she was of Gouto.

"Oh? What was this reason, if I may ask? I won't hold against you." Gouto asked of the girl, interested in this supposed reason. He saw that Sakura was hesitating but calmed down to answer.

"I…thought that if I knew such things, I can impress a boy I like." She said, embarrassed about such a suddenly stupid reason. If someone else were to ask that question, she was sure she wouldn't thought it was such a stupid reason, but a totally acceptable one.

"I see…" Gouto said neutrally. Power, he would've guessed. No reason, perhaps that was a reason enough, but a boy? That was a new one.

"Tell me more about this boy…" He asked the girl, who was surprised at the request. Not wanting to upset the cat, she began telling him of one Sasuke Uchiha…

**X-X**

After finding the empty lot where the newspaper said the phantom house was at, Naruto looked around for anything…abnormal.

"Hey, what are we looking for?" Ino asked, looking around in the same general direction as Naruto. Unlike Naruto, Ino had no idea what they were looking for.

Ino hoped it was something cool like a missing person, or hunting down a rogue demon in Dark Konoha. She was really itching to go back there, it was so fascinating! She just needed a break from "normal" Konoha once in a while at least.

"We're looking for a vanished house." Naruto replied simply. He seemed to believe that the answer would solve every question she had.

It didn't.

… A small silence filled the air.

"That's it?" She finally asked after a bit. He couldn't possibly believe that it would satisfy her every question. She could not believe that Naruto could be that simple minded!

"Yep." Naruto replied cheerfully. Ino stared at Naruto for a minute before turning to Kushina, who shrugged.

Ino sighed, before getting a fiery look and grew ten times larger (at least to Naruto anyways) before speaking (read: shouting) to him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S IT?" Ino shouted at Naruto, who looked confused and terrified at the same time. Kushina, who wasn't in the line of fire, only laughed at the scene. If that didn't reinforce her opinion of how much she liked Ino, she didn't know what would have.

After Ino went through three stages (a small tirade aimed at Naruto, a slightly hurting pang in Naruto's ear from said tirade, and a post-tirade calm Ino), Naruto spoke in more detail about his assignment to her. Ino, who almost scoffed at the easy assignment that the cat sent Naruto on, was about to voice such sentiments. However, she paused and thought about how nothing was ever easy enough whenever the cat sent Naruto on something.

From what she gathered during their break times at the academy, Gouto was always having a deeper meaning to any assignment he sent Naruto on. From whether it is from going to the local library (she figured he sent Naruto on information gathering tasks) to training in a certain way (she noticed that he was much more agile in his dodges during training spars with his opponents), this was certain to be one of those assignments.

She smiled, she liked those assignments.

"Alright, let's get looking, shall we? We haven't got all day, you know!" She said with another fiery look, this time of confidence. Naruto looked at his partner, as if sharing an inside joke before looking in the opposite direction of the blonde girl. Kushina, who only shook her head with a smile, set off into the sky. Perhaps the answer was from a bird's eye view?

**X-X**

When Sakura was finished explaining the mystery that was Sasuke Uchiha, Gouto could only stare at how much hero worship this girl thought of the boy.

There was practically no flaw with this boy. And from what the girl was saying, it wasn't limited to her only. Every girl in his student's class (barring the odd girl, Hinata) thought the same of this boy. Mentally, Gouto shook his head. That just wasn't possible.

There is no human, no matter how talented, that is without flaw. He knew that with Raidou and every student thereafter. Not even Naruto was flawless. Though he had more flaws than his other students, he trumped his flaws with limitless potential.

That was his ideal student.

Gouto studied the girl while she was telling him of Sasuke. Sakura's eyes were going from admiration to obsession and switching back between them intermittently. If nobody stepped in soon, he feared that it would cloud her judgment when dealing with the boy. He couldn't let anyone else be like that, he failed one of his students like that. That could not come to pass anymore, not when he could do something about it.

It was time to crush this hero worship, at least in this girl.

"Foolish." He said simply to the girl. Sakura could only stare surprised at the answer, what did he find so foolish?

"Foolish? About what?" She asked.

"This boy. I am saying he is foolish." The cat replied. Sakura was shocked, Sasuke-kun was foolish?

"H-how?" She asked, almost thinking that this cat was the foolish one.

"Let me break down your statements." Gouto told the girl, who could only stare at the cat.

"One: He is superior in all ways, at least which is what you said. How is he superior?" He asked the girl.

"Well… he is the top of our class in knowledge, Ninjutsu training, and Genjutsu training and Taijutsu training. He is our future Number One Rookie!" Sakura said to the talking cat, obviously proud of the boy's achievements. This would certainly change the cat's opinion of Sasuke-kun!

"There lies the problem." Gouto said to her. Before Sakura could answer, he continued.

"He is only a rookie, a fresh combatant in a world where anyone could outwit a rookie with experience. There is no pride in flaunting a title such as that." He said, knowing that it hit the girl's beliefs hard.

"Second: What reason does he have to become so strong? Can you tell me, Sakura?" Gouto asked the girl, using her name for the first time to her.

Sakura was stumped. The cat brought up a good question, for she didn't even know that about Sasuke-kun…

"I-I don't know…" She said, obviously disappointed at her answer. Gouto guessed she was used to having all the answers.

"If there is no known reason, how do you know if his actual reason is honorable as you imagine it to be? It could be as petty as revenge for someone who did him wrong in the past? If that is true, then he is nothing but a murderer with a target and reason."

Sakura was floored, if that was true…

"Third: You often told me how good looking he is in your description, is that all he has to garner such a devotion? I doubt you could be so shallow." He told the girl, who was getting pale at the observation.

He noted that the girl's eyes were switching between fear and anxiety. Good, he was getting close to the point of reason for her obsession. More often than not, an obsession comes from loneliness and attachment to someone who showed them kindness. Could it be that the girl had an encounter with this boy and she latched on to him?

Meanwhile, Sakura was nearing hyperventilation, how could her world be so ugly? Was her world solely based on Sasuke Uchiha?

Was she so obsessed?

Gouto began his final strike to her obsession; he knew it would be enough.

"Finally, Fourth: Even if you wanted to be his bride, what possible use could you be to him? Other than being his concubine, I doubt he would allow you freedom outside of child rearing and raising said children. You mention no other that has the moniker Uchiha, so I assume he is an orphan." Gouto told the girl. He was so close, he couldn't stop now.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore; she couldn't take such words, not all at once!

A brief flash of light fled her body before she clutched her head in agony.

"I…I...Nooo! AHHH!" Sakura screamed and collapsed. Gouto thought she merely fainted, but a pulse of power emanated from her before making him flip over to dodge a powerful punch.

Gouto recognized the move, for he was a target once before to such an attack.

"Well well…we meet again, Bishamonten." Gouto simply said to the demon shielding the girl from supposed harm. It looked like she lost control of herself and in response; her inner demon came out to protect her.

"It is you…do you mean harm to her?" Bishamonten said guardedly. He doubted the cat would do harm, but no one ever knows the future.

"No, I had to drive a point home about obsession to this girl. The only harm I ever did to her is to her faith to a certain boy." He told the demon, who nodded.

"I see…I wanted to be able to guide her actions as well, but a strange force stops me from entering her mind fully. I will, in time be able to bypass such a barrier, but not now. Thank you for your words to her, it may help in my efforts in breaking the barrier." Bishamonten said before becoming transparent and returning to her body as energy.

The moment he entered his host's body, Sakura gasped in surprise, as if being shocked by a surge of energy.

"Welcome back." Gouto said simply to the girl, who looked sullen.

"I had a dream…I saw your words and my memories…" She said softly.

"How so?" Gouto asked the girl, who continued while looking at the floor.

"I…saw your words and my mind picked out my memories of Sasuke where those words hit home. I couldn't believe them at first, I didn't want to believe it."

She continued.

"Then when I started to panic about it…I was shouting, screaming, growing angry at it all. Then…" Sakura sighed.

"Then I saw something out of the ordinary…it wasn't related to Sasuke, but to me personally. I saw myself saying something to Naruto."

"Oh?" Gouto replied to her epiphany. She was so close, but to interfere on his part would hurt her realization more than help it.

"It was about Hinata…I saw my memory of that…that I called her a blind monster, but when I saw my face while I was saying it…it terrified me. I was so hateful, but even more so than justified…I know I was angry about her beating me, but not enough to be that way." She said. Gouto listened to her every word. Her facial expressions began to tear up in frustration and sadness.

This epiphany had unexpected results, but good for her regardless, he thought.

"I then was approached by a soft glow; I saw a warm presence in it, like I knew it all my life and then I woke up." She finished. She then let out her silent tears, her face showed complete remorse. Gouto wondered if it was too early for such a dramatic maneuver. He decided against that way of thinking, he hadn't second guessed himself ever. He never wondered about 'what-ifs' in his long life and he wasn't about to begin now.

Gouto changed the pathway of the conversation. He wanted for the girl to stop her tears because cat or not, it wasn't something to be boastful about to see a girl cry.

"I see… what a wondrous dream." Gouto said, trying to test her senses. If he was right, she would pick up on the key word.

Sakura stopped crying, but her face became thoughtful afterward.

"But…I don't feel it's a dream. It was something else, like a lesson made for me." Sakura spoke softly, her face serious. Gouto smirked; her senses were as sharp as ever.

Sakura then stood up. Her face was resolute, as if deciding on a path. Gouto watched silently, awaiting her next actions.

"I feel like I should talk to Hinata and apologize to her. I acted so harshly toward her and I feel so bad about it." Sakura said and began to move to the door.

Gouto smiled, or as much as a cat could do. There wasn't any more need to worry about her; she had picked a path and would see through it to the end. He had a feeling that she was too stubborn to do otherwise, much like his idiot student, Naruto.

Before she went though, he felt that she needed to know one small detail…

"Wait!" Gouto said toward the girl, who paused and looked at the cat.

"If you are going to talk to the girl, there is something you should know about her…" Gouto said and paused until she was seated again. He then began to tell Sakura about Hinata…

**X-X**

Hinata was worried; it was very awkward between her and Sakura-san. She knew that in her heart that it was a part of her, but did that make her responsible? She didn't know how to answer that.

Part of her wanted to go to her and apologize, but that would mean she would affirm Sakura's suspicions and accusations against her. Who knew what Sakura would do with such an admission…?

Another part of her wanted the exact opposite. She wanted her to stay as is and deny any involvement in her brutal beating. However, it was going to be hard with so many witnesses seeing the spectacle when she was incapacitated. She didn't know if her spirit could keep up with such evidence piled against her.

She clutched her head, blindsided by the sudden headache coming her way. Why was this dilemma so difficult to resolve? Why couldn't she say she didn't do anything to Sakura and leave it at that? Why couldn't she scream at the world that this was none of her concern? Why couldn't she…why couldn't she…

Why couldn't she convince herself that it wasn't her fault? Why was the guilt eating away at her like if she did the deed?

She knew the answer though.

Because she knew, deep down, that her doppelganger, her dark self, wanted her conscious self to act on her dark thoughts. To be true to what she wanted to do for so long. She knew deep down, that she envied Sakura, Ino and sometimes Naruto for being everything she couldn't be.

Confident…

True to herself…

Assertive of her nature.

Hinata felt that she wasn't any of that. She felt that she couldn't be confident, not at the level that the way Naruto was. She felt that she couldn't be true to herself like her newest friend, Ino was. Sakura's nature, though somewhat vain, was always honest, that she couldn't care less what anyone thought of her.

She wished she could always be that honest.

She sighed, thinking like this lead her nowhere. But what could she do but think? Naruto is out right now, doing his own thing. Ino was probably helping out her family in their business, and… her sister was probably being trained personally by her father.

She knew that all this was to move her out of the way…but she kept too much faith in her father to think like that…most of the time.

She sometimes felt all alone, with nary a body to speak to about her concerns.

A knocking sound shook her from her thoughts. A second knocking came after that, this time from the door. Hinata paused; it was possible that the knocking was always from the door, and not like her mind which she first thought.

A third knocking came from the door, softer this time. Hinata approached the door with trepidation, who could be calling for her at this hour? Naruto often came in during the daytime and sometimes knocked whenever he needed some help with cooking. Ino only came in during the daytime to do some homework with her.

She knew that Neji wasn't due for her report until a few days from now. It was laughable that either her father or her sister would visit her.

So that left…

Hinata's eyes grew tense.

She was here. Sakura was knocking at her door.

An even softer knock sounded at the door, before Hinata heard a sigh and steps beginning to walk from her door. Hinata wondered what Sakura wanted with her? Well…no time like the present to find out.

She opened the door and looked outside. The visibility of the compound grounds was fading from the sunset and the lamplights were beginning to flicker on to compensate for the lack of natural sunlight.

She spotted a startled Sakura just outside her own apartment door. Sakura apparently turned back to face the open door and saw Hinata looking at her.

Wondering what she wanted, Hinata waited for the pink haired girl to make the first move. After observing her for a small bit, she started to notice some things about the girl in front of her.

She was a stark contrast from what Hinata usually saw in public.

She wasn't confident, not in private at least. She was shy, like herself. Instead of hiding away however, she just let the world know she was just fine.

Her eyes were watery and red, as if she cried recently.

Moving on to her observations, Hinata continued her evaluations of the slightly fidgeting girl. Her own "all seeing" eyes slightly widening at her conclusions about the pink haired girl.

She wasn't true to herself, at least not until recently. Hinata was a believer in auras, and it looked like nothing Sakura ever projected. It felt warmer, more mature and it felt like it belonged to someone who was at peace with herself.

Hinata would've said that Sakura was the same as her nature like she first thought, but she saw that Sakura was struggling with herself like she was. Her true nature was one who was searching for her next friend, her next confidant for her true form. Not like the boy-chasing, super confident kunoichi in training she often projected toward her classmates in the academy.

Her next words were NOT what she expected.

"Can I talk to you? It's about your…other self." Sakura said quietly, her eyes dead serious and her face no longer insecure or fidgeting.

Hinata stood stock still, shocked at how Sakura learned of that bit of information…and unsure at how to approach her now.

**X-X**

Naruto was slowly getting annoyed.

It was nearing sunset and he didn't even find one thing out of place! Not even the grass was remotely grown wrong (though how you can tell was beyond him)! Kushina couldn't tell him anything from the sky and Ino was sitting down on a nearby tree stump, tired from searching all that time.

He sighed…was this a wild goose chase? Maybe that article was full of crap, written by some joker of an editor looking for some more sales.

"Ah…I'm tired! Are you sure there's anything here?" Ino asked while she stretched her limbs from either parting rocks and grass or walking, crouching or just standing around. Naruto wasn't feeling too tired, but that was because of all the extra training Gouto put him through.

"It might be… tch! Guess that vanished house was nothing but a waste of time…" Naruto muttered to himself.

However…

He didn't mind it all, odd that. He got to spend time with his friend, whose schedule sometimes stopped her from accompanying him on these errands.

Should he say something?

Naruto made up his mind.

"Hey Ino?" He asked the blonde girl.

"Yeah?" Ino replied, a curious expression on her face.

"It's been a while since we were together like this, huh? Just you and me, looking for something out of the ordinary." Naruto said, looking at the setting sun.

Ino smiled; she guessed it was his way of appreciating her.

"Yeah, it has been some time. My workload made it hard for me to be there when you were off on your adventures. It was nice, wasn't it?" Ino said with a smile.

"So uh…I was wondering if you wanted to head over to Ichiraku's? It's kind of my way to say sorry for dragging you around today." Naruto said, his face grinning.

Ino was surprised, how forward of Naruto.

She grinned.

"Alright, but on one condition." She said.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, wonder what was the condition.

Ino didn't want to admit it, but she was more tired than she let on. To find Naruto hardly winded made her curious about his stamina.

So she had to ask…

"How do you stay so energetic? I'm kind of tired, and you're barely winded!" Ino said, half admiring and half jealous.

"I guess I'm more robust…though I have been doing some stamina exercises daily." Naruto said, not actually taking to account that as a male, he had more stamina than girls.

"So, can you teach me those exercises? I could really go for some extra energy." Ino said, her face beaming.

"Hmm…well I don't think you can do most advanced exercises I do…but I've got the perfect basic one!" Naruto said before exclaiming.

He motioned Ino over, who came over to his side. Naruto then slid into a stance, telling Ino to do the same.

"Gouto-sensei said that doing this for about an hour or two allows your limbs to last longer while doing training, so I think you could do it too." Naruto told her while doing some simple stretches in his stance. Ino copied him move for move before Naruto noticed something.

Breaking out of his stance, he told Ino to keep still while he did some corrections. While he was fixing her legwork, he didn't notice that the blond girl was slightly blushing. Ino never had such close contact with a boy her age, so that was to be expected.

"Alright…there! Keep at it for about a month, and you'll find yourself with a lot more energy. I'll teach you some more moves as you keep training your body, ok?" Naruto said; a large grin on his face. He could totally teach when he was allowed the chance.

Ino, who looked at her new teaching method, smiled. This could totally help her out! She was looking for something other than textbook exercises for a while now. The academy exercises were so male oriented with a few for the feminine side so this was a welcome change.

"Now, how about that? Great to see students practicing out of the academy!" A voice interrupted the two blondes. Turning around, Naruto and Ino were surprised to see their teacher, Iruka standing there with a bag full of groceries.

"I guess you are doing some last minute training? Well, I hope you get it all in for next week." Iruka said, his smile both natural and somewhat cocky. It was as he knew something they didn't.

"What's next week?" Naruto asked, confused on the importance of the date. Ino herself guessed what was coming though. She hadn't realized that it came so quickly.

"Well next week is the beginning of your final exam, of course! The test takes three days to complete, and the first is Taijutsu!" Iruka said brightly.

Naruto gaped, was it already so close?

Ino was too a bit shocked, but she had studied hard. She was confident she would pass.

"Well, see you tomorrow!" Iruka said with a wave, picking up his bag and leaving toward home. He was humming a tune while walking away, something that was unusual in the teacher.

"Huh…time flies when you're having fun, huh?" Ino asked the still gaping boy. When he got no reaction, she looked at the boy's face.

She expected surprise, shock, or determination…but never suspicion on his face.

"Naruto?" She asked.

Naruto only spoke three words.

"That wasn't him."

"What?" Ino asked, confused.

Naruto shook his head.

"I know that humming tune, and it's not something normal people hum."

"What do you mean? What's so special about that tune?" She asked, feeling that she missed an important part in their conversation.

"When Gouto-sensei drilled me about demons and summoning, he told me about certain features that demons give away. It's like a habit for them, and they do it unconsciously. One particular clan is known for humming singing, but they were thought to be rare."

"So that means…" Ino trailed off.

Naruto nodded.

"It means that either Iruka is dead and the demon took his place or it's using his body by possessing him…" Naruto finally said, his expression hoping that it was the second one. Ino hoped too that it was the second option, not really wanting to think that their teacher was dead.

"I have to go, Ino. I have to report this to Gouto-sensei." Naruto said and began to walk back to the complex.

Ino then remembered what she was about to do before meeting up with Naruto.

"Ah, wait I'll go with you!" Ino shouted at Naruto's retreating form, who turned around in surp

"Huh? Why?" Naruto asked.

"I have to visit Sakura anyways, so I'll be doing two things with one trip!" Ino said brightly, hiding the fact that she wanted to go on an adventure badly.

Naruto seemed to notice the hidden desire, but made no mention about it.

"Ok, let's go!" Naruto said, with a smile. When he turned around and walked off, he didn't notice Ino appraising him. To her, he looked pretty cute with the true smiles and not the huge grins he often sported.

Shaking her head, she began to jog to catch up to him. As the pair was walking off, a curious thing happened.

**X-X**

Iruka appeared in the empty lot, as if just appearing within a blink of an eye. He also sported a grin that wasn't like him, as if deranged.

"Almost got found out…heehee!" He said with a giggle that wasn't normal for the teacher.

A small wave of his hand revealed a medium sized house, foundation and all. Iruka walked upon the stone trail and up the steps toward the home. The home itself, while looking somewhat normal was anything but inside.

The interior of the home was trashed, as if the site of a great battle happened here. Iruka didn't seem to mind when he entered the messy home. He walked past a long cooled corpse, whose blood was sucked clean from the body long ago. A couple of other bodies were also ignored, and drained of blood. They still some facial expression though, one of horror.

Iruka only held a deranged smile. The family was so delicious…

He then strode up to a locked door. He smiled as he unlocked the door and went inside.

He gazed at an unconscious person on the floor before exiting, finding nothing to worry about the person in question.

If he looked at the person more closely however, he would've seen the body move slightly and throw out a single kunai out the window with a note attached to it. It seemed to be thrown with the last burst of might that the person had before losing consciousness for real.

He only hoped his student found the kunai…

**I know its been a while, so I can't say anything convincing that sounds or looks like an apology.**

**I am still on this story like water is to fish, so it isn't abandoned.**

**I am beginning the last stretch for my AS Degree in my college, so I don't expect much free time for some time.**

**I have a question for you all: Is this story meeting your expectations? Give me a review and/or a pm explaining why or why not. I'll only accept explanations in story executions (IE: Plot executions or Characterizations within the story.) Not the story in itself (IE: Origins of either story Naruto or Devil Summoner)**

**I'll see you down the road,**

**Terra Ace**

**Word Count: 7,634 (Not counting Bold type characters)**

**FutureStamp ©: Leaner, meaner and feistier! 7679!**

**Huh...got meaner at least!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. The Raindrop Intermission

Devil Summoner Naruto – Chapter 13

-The Raindrop Intermission-

Normally, the sound of rain was unheard of in the upcoming summer for Konoha, but in the rare instance that it did happen, it rained hard.

The local weather experts (ninjas who studied the weather.), told the local newspaper that the entire week as sunny so it was a major blow to their egos when water started dropping from the sky.

Naturally, that meant that there was a halt in activities, save for indoor ones at least.

Naruto wasn't objecting to the restrictions…too much. He really wanted to go out to train out in the rain, see if he could develop some sort of strategy in the rain. Not only was he shot down by Gouto, who told him that it was absurd that anything useful would come from doing such a tactic, to Hinata, who calmly explained that he would develop a cold than a strategy.

So there he was, studying his scrolls with the pitter-patter of rain by his window. To a energy driven boy, this was akin to torture...figuratively at least.

'_Man…this is so boring…' _Naruto thought, only staring at the scrolls, rather than studying them. He needed this or he wouldn't be able to graduate his exams. When he dropped off Ino to her home (she had donned his cloak when the rain got heavy), he looked at his calendar and found that the exams were coming in a week.

These were critical times in his life. If he didn't sit down and focus, he wouldn't be able to pass and become part one of his road to being Hokage, a ninja.

Still…

He was still bothered by one thing, and that was about his teacher, Iruka.

Iruka Umino was a serious, but fair teacher. He graded on performance alone and was generally well liked. He wasn't biased on rumors (something that Naruto was sure drove the other teachers into grading him harshly.), and he was always available for outside tutoring when he wasn't swamped by meetings or homework.

Unlike his other teachers, Naruto felt that he would've really learned if he was there when he was younger. He knew better than to wonder about that, however and focused on the matter at hand.

His thoughts wandered again, but this time it was about something related to his assignment from Gouto-sensei.

From what he knew of Iruka, he was lighthearted, but serious when it mattered. Something about his sudden appearance bothered him, but before he would've asked him about it, Iruka was already going down the road.

It just didn't sit well with him.

His sudden appearance.

His manner of being, as if he was trying really hard not to crack up.

His humming also seemed off and that rung a lot of alarm bells in his head.

He knew what he said to Ino, but he wasn't sure about it yet. If Iruka was really a demon in disguise, then he can only hope that there was a one in a million chance that the real one was still alive. Demons who masquerade as other people rarely left their originals alive, unless it was to maintain their form.

Before he could ponder about it any further, a voice spoke from his right.

"Naruto." A familiar voice sounded, and Naruto looked up.

It was Gouto.

While he was happy that his teacher was here, he wasn't quite sure why he was. His lesson on demon arts already ended, due to the rain putting it ahead of schedule. He was here, and that demanded a form

of respect and attention.

"Yes, Gouto-sensei?" Naruto asked of the old teacher. He had an inkling about what was going to happen, and prepared his memory.

Gouto noticed a small glint in Naruto's eyes and concluded that he was getting ready for the debriefing. That was good, he was learning on how to organize facts and details into a timely manner. He was really growing by leaps and bounds in the time they were together.

Now it was time to give him his test.

"What can you tell me about your investigation? I want every detail." The cat asked of his student.

Naruto nodded, he was supposed to make his report earlier, but his lesson happened. Organizing the events in his mind, he began.

"I went and investigated the area where the house vanished, but turned up nothing… even though with Kushina and Ino helping me, we didn't find anything out of the ordinary…not even any foundation. It was like there wasn't any house there at all." Naruto explained, careful to not leave a detail out of order.

Gouto nodded.

"Was there anything else?" He asked.

"Yeah…Iruka-sensei was there as well." Naruto said to the cat. Gouto was intrigued, there was something out of place there, but he wanted his student to pick up on it.

"He reminded us that we had finals next week and told us to study hard and get some last minute training in…he was also humming on his way home." Naruto told the cat of the further details.

"Did he now…anything else?" Gouto asked once more to his student.

"No…that's about it…unless you want to know that the rain happened after he left." Naruto jokingly told his teacher, who looked at the tidbit seriously.

"hm…" The cat hummed.

"Hey…I was just kidding about the rain…" Naruto tried to tell his teacher.

"Never put away a coincidence as that, a coincidence. Was the sky cloudy, or was it clear as day?" He asked Naruto, who tried to remember the sky.

"Uh…I don't remember, but Kushina was flying, so she might know." Naruto answered, before calling for his partner. A moment later found them accompanied by the fiery Kushina, who was busy staring at the rainfall. Naruto imagined that it didn't rain as often and it fascinated Kushina whenever it came.

"Kushina, was it cloudy in the sky?" Naruto asked of his partner, who shook her head in the negative.

"No, it was very clear until after five minutes when we left..." Kushina answered, her voice trailing off as she saw a flash of lightning outside. It was her first time watching rainfall from inside the house, after all.

"Now then, lets discuss the out of place puzzle piece." Gouto announced while jumping to the top of the couch. Almost at once, Naruto turned his attention to the cat with Kushina joining in right after.

"First of all, Naruto." He gazed upon his student. It was time to test his skills, as to make sure it wasn't getting rusty from non-use.

"What is the puzzle?" He asked first. Naruto looked to the side and thought about it before answering.

"The missing house." He answered, confident in his answer. Kushina nodded in agreement as well to Gouto.

Gouto nodded.

"Exactly. The house in question was written about, talked about and was even seen by the locals. However, when you went to investigate, it wasn't there. The question for this situation is this: Why wasn't it there?" Gouto asked his student; much as a sage taught a disciple.

A silence gathered while Naruto thought of his response.

He knew that house existed, otherwise there would be no mention of it.

He knew that the house wasn't there, despite them searching high and low for it.

There was also the matter of the rain suddenly appearing and Iruka's appearance. He didn't know how to connect them all together though...

Stumped, he looked at his teacher and admitted defeat, for now.

"I don't know. I think I need some more clues." Naruto said after some thought, he couldn't piece together with what he had now.

Gouto stared at the boy before nodding. He knew that there were pieces missing and misleading leads were bound to come up. While he didn't know how these pieces fit together, he knew that there was a common piece that fit them all together.

"I suggest you get to it. We know that the house will likely be the end of this mystery, but be sure to come back to it from time to time. There might be a clue that you missed." Gouto finished and nodded; a sign that Naruto took as being a dismissal.

After Gouto left, Naruto returned to his rainy day studies, seeing no other tasks needed for the day. That was the way at least, when he heard a knock on the door.

There, standing in the rain was Hinata. She didn't seem happy, but wasn't unhappy either. It was more of a serious look that hinted at something shocking to be revealed.

"Hina-chan, what-?" Naruto began to say before being silenced with one hand raised by Hinata.

"Can I come inside?" She asked softly, acting much like her earlier self in the year before. Naruto, who picked up on the vibe, nodded.

When they settled down, Hinata began to speak.

"I...I was told something today. Something that shouldn't have been known." She paused.

Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"Naruto...someone else knows about my dark self." She said, finally letting out the breath she didn't know she had. Naruto stood silent, having a good idea who would know.

After a moment, he asked the question that was on his mind.

"Who was it? I know maybe one, but..." He trailed off. Hinata's eyes widened at the revelation, but didn't say anything.

"You knew? Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata said after a while, as if letting his statement sink in before reacting. Naruto, in his defense raised his hands in a surrender motion.

"Hey, hey...I could be thinking about the wrong person! Just to be sure though...is it Sakura-chan?" He asked the girl.

"I believed there was only one person who knew about it...this was unexpected." Hinata said, her eyes looking away from him. Naruto had the distinct feeling that he did something wrong...but didn't know what yet.

His instinct told him to drop it for now...

"So, what did she say?" He changed the subject. Hinata looked at him for a moment before nodding, as if passing some hidden test. After a breath, she continued her story.

"She somehow knew that it was my dark self that beat her into a coma, and how I fought myself in the compound that night. At first I thought it was you or Ino who told her, but I know that you nor Ino wouldn't say anything about it."

"So, how did she know? Am I deluding myself? Have you told her?" She asked in sequence to the boy. Naruto couldn't blame her, even he didn't know how Sakura knew. Could Ino have told Sakura...he doubted it.

"I don't know how Sakura knew, but I'll ask her about it." He responded. Hinata looked at him for a moment longer before nodding.

"Please do, I don't want to think the worst of my friends on baseless accusations." Hinata said before getting up to leave. After a moment, she spoke again.

"There was something strange about our conversation...it was if she was hinting that I knew about how she knew. It was as if she thought I knew it, like some inside joke." She said, her face thoughtful. Her eyes were showing confusion, but with a hint of cold calculation.

Naruto noted that she probably didn't like being left outside the fold. The problem was telling her about it. She could see Gouto, but can she hear him?

"Is there something I should know about? With what happened tonight, I feel like I will take any answer possible..." Hinata said with a sigh. As she walked toward the door, Naruto was considering his options of telling her.

Would she believe it?

Would she take it as a joke, or an insult?

He would take a shot and find out.

"Hinata." He spoke her name.

She turned around, as if expecting an answer to her perplexing day.

"I think I might have an idea about how she knew." He picked his words carefully, he didn't want to ruin it prematurely.

"You might not believe me..." He trailed off, but Hinata shook her head.

"I told you I would believe anything, just to give this day a rest and an answer." She answered. Naruto nodded, perhaps his explanation wouldn't be so rejected after all.

"How Sakura knew may be related to my hobby...well its more of a profession, I think." Naruto began, to an attentive Hinata. Seeing no objection, he continued.

"I have a unique ability, something that hasn't been seen or heard of in a long, long time. I think I'm the only one who has this ability." He said. Hinata only stood silent, as if gauging his words.

"Could it be a bloodline?" She asked, wondering where he was going with this.

Naruto thought about it, but shook his head.

"I don't think so. If it was, I think I wouldn't be so open about my residency." He joked a bit. He noticed that those with bloodlines were treated like royalty, like the Uchiha or Hinata's clan.

"In any case, This ability...well..." He trailed off again, as if hesitating.

"Yes? What about it?" She pressed for the answer.

Naruto was about to open his mouth until a persistent and loud knocking sounded across the room. Hinata frowned, but dropped the line of questioning. She could get her answers later.

As Naruto strode across the door, he was thankful and a bit disappointed about the interruption. He couldn't get the true reaction, but he didn't want to be alienated by Hinata if she didn't happen to believe him.

Opening the door, he came face to face with Neji and Oberon. Titania wasn't present with them, but Naruto guessed she would be nearby.

"Neji...what's up?" He asked of the boy, who stood unusually silent...or was it usually? Naruto couldn't honestly tell yet.

Before Neji could speak however, Hinata stepped into view.

"Neji..." Hinata said before shaking her head and stepping outside. Before she left, she turned her head and faced Naruto.

"Naruto...can we finish our talk later? I have a lot more questions." She said before heading downstairs to her home. All the while, Neji stood silent...as always.

"So, whats up?" Naruto asked again, as if not taking into account with what happened a second ago. Neji only stared at him a moment longer before shaking his head.

"I came to ask about something about your teacher...but is something wrong with Hinata-sama?" Neji asked Naruto. Usually, Hinata was in a good mood with either Naruto or that cat. To see her so solemn...well he was somewhat surprised.

"Well...I think it might be best to get out of the rain." Naruto said, seeing that Neji was steadily getting soaked. Neji for his part, nodded. He was privately grateful to be out of the rain, since it was tough to dry all that hair.

After tossing Neji a towel to dry what he could off, he sat down from across Neji before getting him up to speed.

"I think that Hina-chan might be getting aware of the devil world...though she had to hear it from the oddest source..." Naruto said, trying to figure out how could have Hinata learned about it from Sakura. It must have been shocking to hear it from her.

"That is because I told her." A voice said from his right. Naruto and Neji turned to their right to find Gouto speaking to them both. Naruto had a surprised look at the information, while Neji was both surprised at the cat talking and at the information.

Oberon and Titania had told him during his off-time that Naruto's cat was a famous trainer and partner of a legendary figure that they had the pleasure to meet. Although...Neji had noticed that Titania had a wistful, yet lustful look, while Oberon had a look of remembering a worthy opponent laced with jealousy.

To hear the cat speak only cemented the facts further.

"Why?" Naruto asked of the cat.

"She had to know, it was a necessary step for them to close their rift." Gouto answered, his answer crisp and precise.

"They had a rift? Surely she knew that it wasn't Hinata-sama that put her in that coma..." Neji trailed off, as his eyes shined with realization.

"Yeah...but Sakura didn't know that. They needed the talk...but did they need it so soon?" Naruto asked.

"It is better now than later, since it would stop them from resenting each other even deeper. With that kind of grudge, it could explode with much more than just avoidance." Neji said, fully understanding what the cat was thinking.

Gouto nodded, the shy one's kin was incredibly sharp on these matters.

"I believe we're getting off track. Neji, you said you had a question about Naruto's teacher?" Gouto asked, letting them know about the matter at large.

Neji nodded and turned to Naruto.

"I had an encounter with your teacher during one of my missions. He wasn't...what I expected him to be." Neji said, his eyes remembering at the encounter with the teacher.

"If there is any suspicion on your part, I think we have might have a problem on our hands." Neji said, to which Gouto and Naruto nodded.

"You are correct, Neji. What we have running around is a possible possession of Naruto's schoolteacher, Iruka." Gouto said, confirming Neji's suspicions.

"Did he do anything strange? Like laugh uncontrollably, or hum a weird tune?" Naruto asked, trying to get as much information from the older boy's encounter.

"He did hum a tune, but he also did something else. He..." Neji hesitated. Naruto knew that it might not be the real Iruka, but the local populace sure didn't.

"What did he do?" Naruto asked in half wonder, half trepidation. Neji hesitated for a small moment before answering.

"He...well he did some sort of jutsu...it well...made him naked." Neji said, trying to erase the memory from his mind.

Naruto blinked.

Kushina was in between laughing and being horrified.

Gouto only stood there, not bothered by it at all.

"If that is all...lets move on." Gouto said before jumping to the top of the couch in two leaps. He stared at both boys before continuing.

"How long do you have before graduating?" He asked instead, throwing the path of conversation off course. It took a moment for Naruto and Neji to compose themselves by the seemingly random question.

"I think a week left, why?" He answered, while Neji remembered that the fall session of the newest academy students begins in a few months. The time between them was to prepare the students and give the teachers some sort of reprieve from them.

"I ask because if you are serious about becoming a ninja, you must rescue or subdue Iruka in less than a week if you want to graduate. If not, then I'll have to speed up our training regiment so you may become a full fledged disciple." He answered.

Naruto was stunned, he had a week to finish this or he wouldn't be a ninja? Even Neji was surprised, but a part of him was interested if a full fledged career as a Devil Summoner would work out for him too.

"I know you are stunned, and I'll tell you why I'm giving you this ultimatum." Gouto paused before continuing.

"I have been gathering information on how your academy system works for nearly a year. If you miss the deadline, you will not be able to try for your promotion for another year. I would find it a waste of time for you to relearn all your lessons again while trying to balance out your new path." He explained before jumping down from the couch.

"If you are serious about this path, finish it within the week. Otherwise, we have some planning to do." Gouto said with finality and walked off to another room. Naruto however, was filled with determination. He promised the elders that he would become the first Devil Summoner Ninja, and he would do it, even if it cost him his limbs or his life.

Neji, who saw the determination in Naruto's eyes, nodded to himself. He would try to help him on his mission, as he understood the meaning of being barred from something he wanted more than anything else.

He subconsciously thought of the _thing _on his forehead...

"Now what?" Neji asked to the boy, ridding himself of that line of thought. He wanted to see how Naruto acted at the beginning of a case. He himself was brought in only in the middle of it, so this was a new experience for him.

"First, we gotta get our facts together. I'll tell you what I know and you tell me what you know. We can find out our next step from there." Naruto said, his training kicking in. Neji nodded, he noticed that as soon as he mentioned anything related to his craft, Naruto's personality became more mature and calculating. In his off time, however, he was still the ramen loving fool as he always was.

He shook his head, it was time to get to work.

**X-X**

Outside in the rain, Hinata was thinking. She was pondering about what Naruto was going to tell her before they were interrupted, and it felt like she was missing something very important.

If it happened without interruption, would he have told her? She didn't know for sure, but she liked to believe that he would. If so, was his secret enough to outshine hers?

She didn't tell anyone this, but in the last month or so, she felt like she was hallucinating whenever she activated her bloodline. She began seeing things in color instead of black or white and it was frighting to her. Everywhere she looked, there was blotches of red, black and even green at times. Orange, pink, blue, and yellow happened occasionally. She thought it was random, but all these colors weren't so.

They were the same color she would see on normal things.

She was wondering if she was losing her abilities, but she could still see all around her like normal.

So what was happening to her?

A voice interrupted her thoughts. Hinata turned to the owner of the voice and saw the root of her troubles as of late.

Sakura.

"Are you alright, Hinata?" She asked, her posture relaxed and a look of wonder and concern on her face. Hinata wondered why she was concerned for her, but it might be from the conversation they had earlier. Instead of retaining her imaged self, she seemed to be relaxed around her. Almost like she was her friend.

Hinata wasn't sure about that. She wanted to give her a chance, but those words hurt back then, and they still do sometimes.

"I'm fine, I had a tiring day." She replied, giving her that info to mull about. Sakura grew even more concerned about the revelation, but refrained from saying anything else. It seemed that Sakura knew all about giving people space and Hinata appreciated her for it.

"I'm sorry, but can I talk to you later? I think I need to rest." Hinata said, somewhat sad about the lack of people to talk to. However, her body nearly screamed at her to get some rest and she was all too ready to comply.

"Sure." Sakura said before nodding and departing to her room. She had a wistful look and it looked like she wanted to talk to her longer, but respected her wishes.

As she left, Hinata was considering forgiving her about her comments, as she knew she had no actual way of telling apart her from her darker ego. It would take a while, but she was sure that Sakura would make a good friend to her someday.

With that, she entered her room, eager for some rest.

* * *

"It looks like we got an entire mountain of sightings, facts, and reports of Iruka. Do we have enough to predict where he would be next?" Neji said after sharing his experiences with the student detective.

From what he gathered, it wasn't the first time that Iruka was exposed into doing random things. There have been reports of other students, townspeople and even entire ninja teams was subjected to Iruka's odd antics. He did note that the blond haired girl, Ino was doing most of the groundwork in these findings. Naruto had some success, but it looked like the people weren't too keen on talking to him.

However, that was another matter for another time.

"Hey, there's something odd about all this." Naruto said suddenly. His face was looking rather perplexed and had a bit of a look when someone found the bigger picture in a scheme or plan.

"Look at these. He always had to disappear around this time. He looked like he was in a great big hurry too." Naruto pointed out to Neji so he could see it as well. Neji, who looked at the place where Naruto was pointed, saw what he was implying at.

Iruka was always in a hurry around the time the stars would come around. So his urgency spiked at around six to six thirty in the evening. After that, he wouldn't reappear until the following day. Another clue had also appeared to Neji, as all reports had him going in the same direction at the same time every day. Except for one.

"Naruto, all these accounts said they saw Iruka going toward the north, where the house was supposedly there. When you went there, the house wasn't there and Iruka just suddenly appeared. Which way was he going?" Neji asked of the boy, who's eyes widened at the information.

"He was going east, toward the academy! Why would he change now? Unless..." he trailed off, trying to pick up the last piece of the puzzle himself. After a minute, Naruto said with certainty.

"I think that the house might be covered in an illusion." Naruto said to Neji. Neji nodded, he was thinking of that as well. Houses wrapped in Genjutsu often meant that the house was for a spy or a safehouse from unwanted eyes prying into it. It would certainly explain why the house was deemed haunted by the local populace, who had no knowledge of the arts of illusion.

"How do we break an illusion on the house? Something like that must take something complicated." Naruto pondered as he spoke, trying to find the right word for illusion...he was sure Iruka told them that a while ago.

"I think we need to ask someone on how Genjutsu works. I can see through it with my bloodline, but I can't break it for others to see it unfortunately." Neji said while wondering who could break such a thing.

"I believe I might be able to help." A new voice said.

Both boys turned to the owner of the new voice in their discussion.

It was the only one who could say such a thing with brilliant confidence.

It was of course, Victor.

"How so?" Naruto asked of the scientist. Neji, who didn't know what a scientist was, didn't really think of Victor as a scientist...more like a madman.

He had no idea that both equaled Victor so well.

"I was researching my notes for such supernatural occurrences happening and I found out something interesting." Victor began, pulling out an old file from his coat. The file itself looked like it was worn with time and the notes were in a completely different language.

"Sometime after the Yatagarasu fell, the world was at a mercy of a strange new phenomenon that used illusions to decimate much of the world's military. That is, until a remnant of the fallen Yatagarasu appeared before the Japanese army...at least what was left of it." Victor reminisced, as if he was part of the event himself.

Secretly, Naruto thought he was much older than how he appeared. He actually thought he might not even be human.

"It appeared that the illusions were nothing more than special electrons moving in a way that a broken television displays static." Victor roped in a similar explanation since he found that the world itself isn't totally backward in technology with the appearances of televisions and projectors. However, he noted, that the world didn't know how to replicate the televisions or projectors, so it must be a rarity to own one at all.

Sometimes he wondered if he could take siege of the untapped market and retire...well he IS retired on a technicality.

"In order to combat it, soldiers were given EM goggles treated in a special chemical in order to combat this supernatural effect. It proved quite effective." He finished.

"What's the point? We don't have such a thing, do we?" Neji asked. Naruto was wondering the same thing.

Victor for his part, smiled like if he was talking to a child.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a salvaged pair. It was intended for those who couldn't see through these illusions. It would be unnecessary for the blind one there." He didn't notice the subtle glare that Neji gave him.

"It was designed for the young apprentice there. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it without the goggles, but consider it a trainer for the meantime." Victor finished and handed Naruto a box. Naruto, curious about these wonder goggles, took them out immediately out of the box.

Whenever he heard about goggles, he always imagined a single strap tied to a pair of plastic lenses and sold cheaply in stores.

What he was holding was nothing like that. In fact, it felt like an ancient artifact that outgunned any recent technology that they had.

It was metallic in nature, but had two glass lenses that were tinted green. It looked like it had something at the top of the lenses, but it was burned...or melted off. It looked like a tight fit, but it seemed modified for Naruto's skull.

Shrugging, he put them on but was disappointed that nothing happened. That is, until Victor touched something on the side of the head and a click was heard. A short moment later, and Naruto just about gasped at the difference.

The place had a green glow because of the lenses, but it also highlighted certain factors and objects well. Neji's eyes were glowing slightly white indicating power ( or was it chakra? He couldn't tell). The rest of his body was slightly darker to indicate his position.

All in all, it was something that would really help...in certain situations.

He did notice a blinking icon at the right and took it off to wonder what it was.

"There is something I must warn you though. It isn't infinite. It needs a special charge now and then and it looks like it will soon." Victor warned the boy, who nodded. Neji was astounded, the amount of technology in the mind of that madman was staggering. Who knew what he would do if he had that kind of knowledge, and he was glad he didn't for he wasn't sure he would be as loyal to the village if he did.

"Continue on your planning and I'll have it charged as much as possible. In the meantime, I'll go ahead and take these." Victor took off the goggles. He turned from the duo before walking out of the room. However, he turned back and told him in a grave voice.

"These things were only a factor in the old world. They do not exist because the old world doesn't, and you will not find any others like them. Whenever you find someone with things they should not have, tread carefully."

Victor then turned around and finally left. Neji and Naruto were stilled by the proclamation, wondering what kind of world was Victor talking about. It sounded wondrous...but also frighting.

"Alright, we have everything but the identity of the demon masquerading as Iruka. The only clues we have are the humming and erratic laughter and deranged smiles he often sports." Neji began as all members involved sat at the table. Kushina and Oberon however, stood by their partners in midair while listening in for any changes in strategy that their summoners talked about. It felt like an impromptu war room if someone were to peer in at them.

"May I ask something?" Oberon spoke, after a lull in stratagem discussion.

"What is it?" Neji asked of his demon. Perhaps a demon's insight could be used to shine a light into the matter.

Oberon had a pensive look upon his face. He wasn't sure, but the words 'erratic' and 'laughter' struck a cord in his memories. He was king of the fairies for a long, long time and while he wasn't showing his age, he was rather old.

Being ruler for this long allowed him to raise and destroy entire races at his whim. While he rarely was ever pushed into his destructive side, it did happen from time to time. One example would be a devastating race calling themselves as "dark fairies". They didn't differ in power or shape, but their ideals were destabilizing his kingdom and that forced his hand. The remnants of these extremists, mere infants themselves, were integrated into his clan, the Yousei Clan.

His clan was comprised of fairies, and some elves who had fairy blood. The reason he had something stirring in his memories were because of memories of a rebel faction in the Yousei Clan that had a detachment of elves in their ranks. He wasn't convinced that the assault on the castle that he and Titania ruled had all of the forces the rebel army commanded. He was sure that one of them deserted their cause and began dealing random chaos well away from the main event.

He considered that one the deserters...perhaps the only survivor of the rebel faction was inhabiting this world, causing trouble in an attempt to create chaos.

"I may have an identity, but in order to be sure, I must face him in battle. I must fight him, for he might be one of my own." Oberon said, his eyes in cold fury and with his hand at his rapier. Naruto and Neji's eyes widened at the revelation. Both Naruto and Neji recognized Oberon's strength individually and could tell that this feeling was something that only came with experience in battle. Lots of experience...

"Then its settled, we need to find your teacher immediately." Oberon said before growing silent and stood by Neji once more like a bodyguard.

"I guess we'll need a day or two to find out where Iruka has been going. I think he might change his goings if he suspects hes being followed." Naruto said, knowing he did so himself whenever a teacher got wise to his prank scheming sometimes.

"I'll keep an eye if I should see him while I'm out with my team." Neji said, adding his support to the plan. Naruto nodded before pausing. He had always been curious about Neji's team, and what better time to ask him about it?

"Hey Neji...what do you think about your team?" He asked, trying to find out something about his sometimes partner in these situations. Neji thought about it...should he say anything?

"I don't think I can tell you much, but if what my sensei says is true, they'll be the only people you'll care about ever." Neji said, remembering what his sensei said in their introductions to each other. He certainly didn't want to remember about the 'Flames of Youth' that he seemed to remind them of every single day though...

"Really? Wow...wonder if I'll get a team like that?" Naruto asked himself. Neji, who didn't fully believe in the claim, could only shrug. Perhaps his teacher is right and it'll be as he says. He wasn't too fond about his teammates, especially the other boy on his team, who seemed to be contemplating a complete wardrobe change if the bowlcut he claimed of getting soon was any warning.

He felt a sliver of fear when he said that actually.

However, they needed to get their plan in motion and that did not mean that they should just stand around doing nothing.

With that, both boys nodded and returned to their lives, the rain finally parting and some sunshine breaking through. It was a sign of good tidings...or a prelude of things to come.

**And another chapter is in the bag!**

**I was MIA for a month above the target release date and I apologize for that. My reasons for that are my own and it wasn't some crap excuse like life or school, it is something that I find important and that is that.**

**It doesn't affect anything in the immediate future, so I'll still be rolling on the chapters.**

**So I got a review response after I told it like it is on a terrible story. It wasn't great, it wasn't good and it certainly wasn't what the author expected if he/she wanted a decent response.**

**I don't hold back in my reviews, as I shouldn't expect any others to do so either. The purpose of this site is to help and improve upon others skills by the way of reviews. Now some sugar coat it and it bite the backsides of delusional authors as they don't improve on it. Some go extreme and it often discourages the would-be authors. A few have it so refined that they can go inbetween without going either side of the spectrum.**

**I admit that I go into the extreme, but nothing like a fanatical troll that sometimes appears.**

**I will post an excerpt of the PM of the response and this caught my eye:**

"**I'm more famous than you think in the arabic world in writing stories i'm not familliare with the language that's why I have to start slowly so please know i'm NOT from the shadows"**

**Frankly, I don't care if your famous in any world, just as I don't expect anyone to give a damn about my fame in another world.**

**I understand about struggling in another language, just as I have in Korean, but with the vast resources that this site offers, betas have often been able to teach words in other languages that their seekers have trouble with, aside of proofreading their works. Microsoft Word/Openoffice/Libreoffice also offers spellcheck/grammercheck and that is no excuse to dish out poor quality works.**

**I am not the perfect writer, as I've had my fair share of flames, usually in response to another review I've done. That's how flame wars are started, and I've learned to avoid such things, but sometimes the world doesn't see my reviews that way.**

**The world is vast, and wars have started for far less.**

**Anyways, I'll get to work with the other chapter soon enough and it'll be a tall order if I say so myself. However, with the support that the readers of my stories are giving me, I'm sure to not fail.**

**Until next time,**

**Terra Ace**

**Words (excluding bold): 6193 words**

**FutureStamp ©: Nothing much to change...guess I'm getting the hang of this!**


	14. The Days That Go By

Devil Summoner Naruto

Chapter 14

The Days that Go By...

_Day 1: Noon_

It was the first day and because of an academy tradition, students were given a half-week in order to put in last minute studies for their upcoming graduation. This meant that Naruto had extra time to shadow Iruka in case there were any changes in behavior patterns.

Naturally, Ino tagged along to help.

With both students tailing the suspicious teacher, it was easy to find out how the teacher moved, how the teacher acted, and how he interacted with the local populace. Whereas one set of eyes missed something, the others eyes caught it instead.

It was as if they were a well oiled machine...so to speak.

There were some close calls though. Sometimes Ino or Naruto would step onto a branch or scuffle the road a little too loudly and the teacher would suddenly turn around, eyes darting in all directions. That sometimes had both students huddle together close in the limited space they had, steadily ignoring their proximity to one another. It was certainly becoming a routine to both of them.

"I wonder if he caught on..." Ino's voice said softly, out of earshot of the paranoid teacher. She thought that there wasn't anything odd with the teacher at first, but there were too many times where her teacher had suddenly flashed out of nowhere and started making acts that were way out of line with his character.

Case in point: Defacing the Hokage's monument...

She suppressed a giggle at how Naruto's face looked when he was pointed out as the culprit. Despite being somewhere else at the time, Naruto was still forced to clean the monument himself one evening. He was done unusually fast though, and she suspected that Kushina had a hand in it.

Naruto was slowly looking over Iruka's moving form as he was walking aimlessly. First he didn't buy anything despite going into the commercial sector with a good amount of money. While that was normal, what wasn't was when he paid too much for a piece of hardened candy. Although that didn't stop the candy salesman from scooping up the extra change.

Is there a limit to how much someone paid for something? Naruto certainly didn't think that spending ten thousand for a piece of candy that probably cost less than one hundred to make was acceptable. If he didn't finish this quickly, Iruka might end up diving straight into the poor house!

He almost didn't catch the erratic teacher's movement as suddenly, Iruka turned straight into the Gambling sector of Konoha.

Naruto now had to hide both he and Ino from both Iruka and some of the local parlor guards.

**X-X**

Parlor guards were installed at all entrances in order to keep the destitute from making trouble and keeping children out...most of them at least. He did see a couple of older academy students enter a particular parlor once when he was younger. When the academy students were thrown out forcefully, they were practically stripped of their common accessories, one of them even lost his shirt.

Stopping himself from getting lost in his memories, Naruto watched as Iruka entered a parlor. However, he wasn't sure of Iruka's odds winning with only 50 ryo to his wallet, and judging by the grins of the guards, they were thinking the same thing.

Regardless, they let him pass.

An hour later, Ino and Naruto were shocked when Iruka strolled out with three men in tow. Each man had a bag in their hands. Iruka held one bag on hand and smiled when he gave each man a very large sum. They were boggled when they overheard the suddenly rich teacher call it a "tip".

Either Iruka was naturally lucky, or the suspected demon was interfering somehow.

Aside from that event, Iruka didn't do anything else that was remotely suspicious. He did go north and back to where Naruto and Ino met him a day prior. He did linger at the site for a moment before passing by and disappearing from the road ahead. Naruto and Ino tried to locate him, but they were confounded by the presence of a festival going on in the road ahead. They had no choice but to leave the area, feeling like they failed in tailing him.

**X-X**

_Day 2: 8:00 AM_

Being in a team with two others and a sensei limited Neji from wandering too far away while being on assignment. However, sometimes they were able to finish a mission earlier than expected, allowing the team to either train as a group or gain some free time away from each other.

This was one of those times, and he opted to use his time in searching for the wayward teacher.

It also had the added benefit on training his grasp on his special eyes.

"Byakugan!" He said with a silent ferocity, as was custom with all Hyuuga, either main or branch.

Suddenly as the last syllable left his mouth, his vision changed from colored to nearly blinding white with black lines forming the outlines of buildings. He was able to see from nearly every angle, regardless of the physical impossibility. He could also see the interior of buildings as well, making him the perfect scout.

There was a particular limit he was born with though, he couldn't see one degree and that was his back.

Ever since he found out, he cursed the fact that of all the degrees he would be blind to, it would have to be the most important part of a ninja's survival set. He would be an easy target if he someone were to find out, so he kept quiet about it. To the world, he was the same as the all seeing members of his clan.

Searching his limits as far as he could go, he was able to spy into the academy's walls and find out the teacher's location. As was normal, he saw his former academy teacher talking to a another teacher along with Iruka in what looked like to be the break room or a faculty lounge. Gazing a few feet to the side, Neji could spy Naruto and Ino speaking to Hinata and Sakura. It was a rarity that the girls around Naruto weren't madly in love with the last Uchiha. He could understand Hinata, but from what Naruto was telling him, Sakura and Ino were basically front and center whenever the boy was strutting around.

Although, it might have something to do with Naruto's natural charisma and the changes all those involved had went through.

Seeing through his eyes also had the added effect of sensing other people's chakra signatures. He could easily blaze through the normal people's signatures as they were dull enough to be seen through. More brighter ones usually belonged to ninja or the talented students in the academy. This gave him an edge, since if he could use it right, he could discern a spy in civilian clothing, making ambushes nearly impossible.

A flicker entered his vision and Neji looked to see Iruka suddenly disappear from his range.

Neji looked around frantically, trying to find out where Iruka went to. This wasn't possible! To have Iruka just suddenly disappear was something that was possible only by the fastest being or possibly a Jounin...

Growling in anger, Neji shut off his enhanced eyesight, noticing the drain it had on his reserves. While most clan members can keep it for far longer, it wasn't recommended they overstep their limits. Neji was witness to a member go blind from using a soldier pill while activating his eyesight. It effectively gave both a warning and a nightmare to those who feel that they can emerge unscathed doing risky things with their blessed gift.

Turning toward his right, he saw Oberon scan the horizon for any change in the air. His experience as a demon gave him an insight on how to filter ordinary energy than that of a demon. However, he only shook his head in the negative, telling Neji that he couldn't sense the teacher at all.

Just in time as well, as he was getting called back to formation by his female teammate, Tenten.

This would be a good clue, as it told them that their opponent can teleport.

**X-X**

_Day 2: 7:30 PM_

With the new bit of information safely stored in the case files, Naruto sighed in relief. These stalkings toward their teacher was tiring and was getting rapidly pointless if they couldn't get anything new out of them.

However, they did know how their teacher was eluding them at the end of day.

Neji's eyes may have been a bit creepy, but there is no denying their use in the real world...

Naruto's eyes widened!

Was their opponent not actually disappearing...but entering the other world?

Naruto would have to make sure.

Naruto paused in his line of thought...if his suspicions are correct, then whoever their opponent is has created several ways into the dark world of Konoha, and that wasn't going to end well for anyone who could accidentally have entered. He fully understood that while Ninja were powerful, they couldn't handle against opponents that were considered lore by the people.

It was up to him if he was to give any chance of survival to Konoha, and he'll try his hardest!

Pumped up by his self pep-talk, he vigorously looked over the gathered clues. He was sure to find out something that they may have missed!

He would spend all night.

**X-X**

_Day 3: 9:30 AM_

Ino had to drag a panicking Naruto out of the house when he found out that they only half an hour to get to the academy for the day. Hinata stood by, only shaking her head at her friend's antics. Her face, however, held a smile at the rather comedic scene.

_Day 3: 10:30 AM_

Naruto was fast asleep, next to Shikamaru. Sakura tried to listen in on Iruka's lecture, but to no avail.

She glared at the snoring duo, she would get them for this!

_Day 3: 12:00 PM_

Naruto had no idea why he a couple of bruises on his head...he probably fell out of his seat or something...

Shaking his senses awake, he stood by the main door, letting students pass by before sneaking back in. He had become somewhat an expert at hiding from teachers and patrolling students at the academy. He had to be, since he wouldn't have had a great track record at pulling his jokes and pranks if he couldn't outrun a teacher or a couple of students.

Peering into a slightly opened door leading into the teacher's lounge, Naruto didn't see anyone there. Feeling it was safe, he entered the doorway and shut it behind him and locking it.

Now it was time to see if the demon had left anything behind. Neji told him that this was where Iruka suddenly disappeared the other day. If there was anything that Gotou-sensei told him about dark world entrances, it was that there was usually a powdery or distorted space around the entrance itself. It was very miniscule, but it should be detectable to him.

'Alright...he said that he disappeared right around...here' Naruto looked toward the seat that Iruka usually sits at. He would know because he had been in that seat multiple times whenever he got caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing (Read: Pranks).

Checking his desk, Naruto was impressed that it was so orderly. It looked like the demon took great pains into keeping up appearances, at least around the academy. Everywhere else...not so much.

Naruto could only hope that the demon didn't do something incredibly stupid...like streak the Hokage Tower or something...

Looking around the room, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It looked like the other teacher's desks were riddled with homework and graded tests, nothing as put away and orderly as his teacher's desk.

Wait a minute...

Naruto gazed once more at Iruka's desk. Didn't they had a homework assignment turned in a few days ago?

Checking the doorway for any incoming teachers, he opened the drawer for the folder containing their homework assignments. Flipping through their collected works, Naruto saw that they hadn't even been graded. Some of their work went back as far as a week.

That meant that Iruka was missing for longer than they thought. It was almost like Hinata all over again, except they couldn't just stumble onto his location like they did with her.

Naruto couldn't believe he was so inattentive! How could he not pay attention to a demon's schemes that were happening right under his nose?

Losing himself for a moment, Naruto kicked the drawer of Iruka's desk hard. The noise was more than enough to knock Naruto out of his rage and he gasped at his lack of control. The noise would obviously bring over someone to the lounge if he didn't get out quick!

Adding to the noise, several materials on top of the desk either fell off or rolled into the seat. While the pencils and pens rolled onto the floor with a rattle, a jar with what looked to be calligraphy ink was rolling rapidly into the floor below, surely making both a mess and a loud noise if it were to hit the floor!

Naruto tried grabbing it, but he missed and sure enough, it fell off the desk and into the seat. Naruto looked at the doorway and saw it being tried to being pried open. It didn't look good and wouldn't look good on his record if he was expelled because of cheating as they would obviously attest to Naruto doing.

Checking for anything that would pin it on him, Naruto tried to find any pencils or pens on the floor only to find something very important.

Where was the ink?

Naruto looked at the seat and noticed that there wasn't any stain on it at all. Naruto clear saw the jar fall, and there wasn't any sign of ink, not even on the floor surrounding the chair. Naruto's eyes grew in size, was the chair...?

He didn't have any time to think on it further, however. The efforts were getting frantic on getting the door unlocked and Naruto had to find a way out of there!

Finding the only way out was to leap out of the window, he took it. Just as well, since the door was forced open the moment his feet disappeared from view.

As he was falling, Naruto thought to himself that he was becoming a bit of a daredevil as he would've never thought of doing something this crazy before. He did have something that his past self didn't however.

A faithful partner...with wings.

If anyone saw him halt in midair, that would've raised some concern, but as there was no one there, Naruto didn't have to explain to anyone how he escaped certain death. Not like they would've believed anything he said about a feisty red head with wings, carrying him with ease.

In the months that they were together, Kushina was growing in strength as well as in teamwork. She was able to weave her wind magic faster and faster, as well as grabbing objects that were well out of her expected weight frame. It was always a sight to see when Kushina was able to lift several pieces of wood and manipulate them into a makeshift arena with her wind magic. Ino was always in awe when that happened. It gave her hope that she would do things like that someday, sans the magic and being a demon.

As he was walking away from the confusion, Naruto noted that Ino didn't see Kushina as a demon, rather as a normal girl...who had wings.

He wondered if Kushina was visible to everyone, would they accept her as Ino did?

He wanted to say yes, but with the way that he was being treated by the locals, he wasn't so sure about a warm welcome from what he thought, was a radical transformation to the basic human.

Being treated like dirt...Naruto didn't think about that in long time. Seemed like a lifetime ago actually.

Best let it be a lifetime more, as Naruto didn't have time to think about that now. He had a teacher's lounge to investigate further!

Just as practiced, he landed perfectly. He thanked Kushina, who just saluted and flew up high, flying just like a bird.

**X-X**

_Day 3: 5:30 PM_

Despite leaving the site for a few hours, Naruto was astonished that there were guards around the teacher's lounge, even at this hour. However, something seemed off about the scene.

The school was completely empty at this time, but the guards around there were standing still, not even moving.

While Naruto could chalk it off to well trained guards, but they weren't even moving, not even their bodies gave any indication that they were breathing. They could be statues for all he knew.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the equipment, or the backup to storm the room. So for now...

He left the scene.

**X-X**

_Day 4: Noon_

Unfortunately, it looked like those guards were there 24 hours a day now, since Naruto couldn't find an opening without confronting those two guards. Normally, it wouldn't pose a problem, but if an academy teacher caught him doing that, he was sure to be expelled, regardless of the actions that would come from the confrontation.

He would have to use a distraction, but would anything in his arsenal of pranks do the job?

Shaking his head, Naruto decided that he had nothing that would do so. He would have to devise a new prank, or at least get there without alerting the academy...but how?

"Yo." A lazy voice said to his right.

A startled Naruto turned to see Shikamaru Nara, a boy so lazy that he would stop breathing if it wasn't required for survival. As a matter of fact...Naruto thought it was odd that Shikamaru would begin the conversation at all. If anything, Shikamaru wouldn't even give his two cents until long after the problem was commented on everyone else.

"What's up?" Naruto said to his friend. Shikamaru stared at Naruto for a moment before turning his gaze at the window Naruto was watching earlier.

"Are you going to do something to the teacher's lounge? I don't think it would be a good idea, given that we are supposed to graduate soon..." Shikamaru trailed off, yawning off an attempt to sleep. Naruto guessed that he must be awake all night or something, because even he didn't yawn that loudly.

"Maybe I will Shikamaru, but those guards might be a problem." Naruto said, omitting the fact that he might fight them if he didn't find a way to sneak in there.

"Why don't you just climb the wall? You did it when you painted the academy walls last year." Shikamaru offered. He remembered clearly how he painted a stunning likeness of the academy director and an equal likeness of the girls' deception teacher, Suzume-sensei, having a steamy affair on the wall. It made the director's nose bleed a little, and Suzume-sensei grow enraged at both the director and Naruto for the obvious insult. No one had the heart to tell her about the furious blush on the woman's face.

Or the fact that almost _everyone _knew about that particular incident in the supply room...

Naruto considered it, but shook his head. It would make too much noise and he didn't know the detection capability of the guards yet.

"Nah, I feel like just walking in, but I gotta do it without those goons seeing me." Naruto said to the lazy boy. Shikamaru thought that would take guts, but those guards didn't let anyone in apart from teachers. Even the students designated as patrol teams were forced to wait outside.

Shikamaru suddenly felt a chill. When he pinpointed the source, he found Naruto staring at him, with a grin on his face.

_'uh oh' _Shikamaru thought.

**X-X**

How did it come to this? It was so humiliating...

Shikamaru was already cursing the day he met anyone with a blond hairline. First it was Ino, who had the loudest...demeanor anyone ever had. Then he met what could possibly be her double, except he had more outlets. His pranks, while harmless, had the unfortunate side effect of setting in motion all sorts of troublesome events.

Events like washing his hair multiple times to get a certain scent out of it...that was tiring...and troublesome.

It looked like it wouldn't happen this time though...he was offered a very simple job for a satisfying reward.

He had to make it look like he was walking by the lounge's guards while leading them away in his shadow technique.

In exchange? Naruto would get Ino off his back for a whole week.

Score!

He would have to wait until the shadows were in his favor. He learned from his father that the darker it is, the more easier it would be to manipulate the surrounding shadows.

What would Naruto do that required his help though? He certainly wouldn't risk getting kicked out when he was so close to graduation, so what would he do in the teacher's lounge?

Knowing Naruto, he would probably change the answer key to the final test or something. If that was the case, he wouldn't mind it. Easier questions made for easier tests and more time to nap.

Checking the nearby clock, he surmised that he would need until at least after school to get the shadows in his favor.

Shikamaru proceeded to wait, having nothing to do but look at clouds...and nap.

**X-X**

_Day 4: After Class_

Naruto was getting impatient, where was that lazy slacker?

And after he said he would get Ino off of him for a while too...

Naruto didn't know it, but his instinct screamed to never ever mention that part of the deal to Ino for as long as he lived...

He spied the obstacle in his path and had to think about an alternative plan should Shikamaru not show up. He might have to use a distraction to keep them busy, but he wasn't sure if they would even react to an attempt.

Thankfully, that is when noticed Shikamaru walking to his direction. He waited in a corner while looking around the corner to see what Shikamaru would do...

Shikamaru just kept walking ahead.

Naruto, wondering whether the lazy boy did anything paused as he trailed Shikamaru's unusually long shadow...a shadow that seemed to keep growing longer and longer!

A sudden shuffling of feet caught Naruto's attention and he turned his eyes to where the guards were.

The guards were suddenly interested in following Shikamaru for some reason, at least it would seem to be to the random student looking at the spectacle. The more observant would see that the guards were forced to follow the boy, though very few would make the connection of the boy's abilities in the process.

Naruto gave a thumbs up to the boy while saying thanks under his breath. Shikamaru didn't seem to give any reaction other than a pointed look and a small smile. He did his part, now it was up to Naruto.

Naruto, with his way clear, entered the teacher's lounge. It was the same as he remembered and he made a beeline for Iruka's desk...

Only to jump back when steel cage dropped in front of him. Naruto tried to look around for more traps but was suddenly whisked away in a purple light.

Outside, Shikamaru was concerned for the unusual light show inside the teacher's lounge. It wasn't like Naruto to use flashy things unless he wanted to be caught. Even if his grades improved slightly, Naruto wouldn't dare to ruin things for himself this close to graduation...

So what was going on?

**X-X**

In the moment that light occurred, Naruto felt like he was hooked by something and forcefully dragged somewhere very fast. It didn't really interfere with his perception, but he felt a bit groggy from the fast warp-like motion he went through.

Gathering his self control, Naruto looked around at his new surroundings, thankful that he put Kushina into the summoning tube before hand.

"Kush-" Naruto began to say but was interrupted by a new voice.

"Naruto?" the male voice asked of him. Naruto turned around and found...

"Iruka-sensei?" He shouted at the man, who didn't look at all like his doppelganger. While Iruka-sensei on the outside was clean, this one had looked like he hadn't slept in days, or ate for that matter. His eyes were baggy and his usual gear was worn like he hadn't stopped moving at all.

"What happened to you? Are you ok?" Naruto asked of his teacher. Iruka looked like he was in pain, but he nodded.

"Yeah...I think this was the only time I could actually move freely and not be in any combat..." Iruka paused, trying to regain a breath he didn't know he needed.

"Combat? Why are you -" Naruto trailed off and found out why he was fighting non-stop...

He was in Dark Konoha, in the middle of the full moon.

Naruto swore, of all times...

"Naruto? Do you know this place?" Iruka asked of his student, wondering if he could shed some light into the situation. Naruto had to make sure if Iruka was all there, since he didn't think most people can handle this world as he could.

"How long were you here?" Naruto asked the teacher, who caught the change of subject. Thinking back, he didn't eat a few days ago or slept in at least one day...

"I think a few days, but I can't really tell with that strange clocktower..." Iruka trailed off, watching the irregular clock glow softly in the dark world. It was an eerie, but at the same time, calming scene.

Naruto in the meantime, tried to calculate the time the doppelganger was in the real world minus the time that the real Iruka was actually here. It would've meant that Iruka was actually here for nearly a week, in time with the strange antics the doppelganger was forcing Iruka's image to do.

It could be that Iruka only survived through sheer willpower, on top of being in combat with the supernatural, it gave Iruka a sense of respect Naruto didn't even know he could give.

Iruka was certainly tough, Naruto would give him that.

Naruto now had to figure out to escort a tired and possibly wounded Iruka back to a point where they could both escape...they only point he knew was going through Ino's home, but that could take time that they both didn't have.

He would have to find another way.

"Alright Iruka-sensei, we need to move carefully. I get the feeling we aren't alone..." Naruto said to the teacher, who nodded. He had to trust that his student was right and could get them out of here in one piece.

As they traveled the dark streets, Naruto had to avoid the enraged monsters hunting for either monsters to fight or the two of them unless they wanted to be a snack. Naruto had seen that first hand when a couple of Slimes ripped apart a group of Fairies limb from limb. The Slimes victory feast didn't last long when a Turdak single-handed the group of Slimes a ticket to the afterlife with only his bloodied sword.

Fortunately, Naruto had remembered to pick up the EM Goggles from Victor, who only told him to be careful and to try and bring back a specimen for him to research on.

Naruto wasn't sure if he was joking with the specimen part.

Naruto felt a chaotic force from each monster and creature they encountered and felt something horrible yet strangely familiar in their auras...it was unsettling to him.

Finally, they reached a courtyard that Naruto recognized as being close to Ino's home. He would have to only turn a corner and they'll be able to escape!

"Iruka-sensei! We're almost there!" Naruto said happily to the teacher. Iruka smiled at the hopeful stance his student adopted. If it was true, they'll be able to escape this personal hell and return to normal.

Iruka stepped forward before he felt something was wrong. He made to warn Naruto but it was too late, the feeling got way too strong to ignore. He knew it was something his student...

He lost consciousness as he smashed body first into a building.

Naruto could only widen his eyes as the teacher was suddenly picked up by an unknown force and tossed violently to the side of a building with a force that could only be described as malicious and terrifying.

Naruto pulled out a short metal tube, he needed some backup just about now.

"Kushina, lets go!" He called out and the tube glowed with a brilliant green. A moment later, his partner materialized, ready for combat.

As both combatants surveyed the courtyard turned battlefield, neither noticed that they were being watched by someone.

The figure only looked on as the opponent they were facing made to strike unseen against them.

It would prove interesting if these are the ones the fates have proclaimed to change the world.

The figure would watch for now, and step in if necessary.

Naruto's instinct screamed to block as he brought his sword in front of him in a defensive stance. A second later would've been too late as a massive tendril of energy struck the sword. The attack forced Kushina to fly upwards but close by to her partner. She used the time flying upwards to recite the area attack spell _Magaru _and sent it to the opposite end of the courtyard, trying to find to invisible foe.

It did so in part as the magic enhanced wind spell blew away the incoming energy strikes, but didn't reveal the foe. Naruto was dazed from the force of the attack and was glad Kushina was there to look after him.

'Alright...time to see if these work...' Naruto thought as he equipped his new goggles. The world turned from black to bright green as the goggles were activated via a touch from Naruto. These goggles were amazing as it brought forth images of glowing objects while ignoring the inert ones. What Naruto was looking for was a humanoid or creature based blob of energy. He doubted that a bunch of slimes or fairies were the ones capable of a strong spike of energy.

Sifting through the normal objects (what counted as normal? The thought zipped through his mind), he at last found something irregular. A large amount of energy was gathered at this one place in the courtyard and Naruto made sure to waste no time in exploiting the opportunity.

"Here we go!" Naruto shouted as he ran toward the spot where the opponent was hiding. He didn't let the opponent know it was detected until he swung his sword in a horizontal fashion at the surprised opponent. While it didn't finish him, the opponent only growled at his arrogance in striking him.

"It seems that I must reveal myself to the unworthy...no matter, it would be the last thing that thing will ever see." The disembodied voice spoke.

The figure that Naruto could only see with his EM goggles materialized in front of him, so he cut the power to the goggles to save what little energy he had left. The energy from a manual charge lasted less than two minutes and he used at least one. He had to conserve what was left for anything that could come his way.

The cloaked figure sighed and let go of the magic that was cloaking the form. Naruto only watched as the form revealed itself and it put him on edge.

It had a lithe form and had long black hair flowing like water, and its eyes were a pale white as if trying to imitate Hinata with a taller form. Its skin was pale white and its ears were pointed, giving the fact away that it wasn't human.

Naruto couldn't tell if it was male or female...until it spoke.

"Such impudence...to think that I have to reveal myself to you...monkey!" The voice wasn't distorted by the cloaking magic anymore so Naruto could hear it clearly. It had a melodious tone.

"You...are an Elf! You are from the You-" Naruto said before the creature, identified as an Elf, screeched in anger.

"Don't you ever say that name in front of me! I am no longer part of that accursed clan!" The Elf said with a furious look on her face, her eyes was shining in rage. She never wanted to be associated with the name Yousei ever again!

"Why are you rogue? Oberon was looking for you!" Naruto shouted at the female elf. He didn't want to tell her that Oberon was looking for this one to combat. He had a feeling that the female elf already knew why.

"Slow one, aren't you? Not even Oberon would dare to take me on in the full moon, he would go mad as well!" The elf retorted with an insane gleam in her eyes. Naruto knew that the full moon intensified any wild demon's strength at least twofold, but he read that some became unstoppable forces of destruction.

He knew he was in for a fight.

"Alright, its time to do everyone a favor and put you down!" Naruto shouted as he held his sword in a striking stance as he charged the rogue. The elf only narrowed her eyes at the charge, it would be easy to deflect such a move and she'll show him how foolish it was for him to try that.

As the distance between them quickly closed, Naruto swung his sword upwards, trying to strike down the elf in one swift blow. The elf, already reading his movements as slightly faster than she expected, used a concentrated form of magic to shield her arm as she parried the sword away. Elves weren't used to close range combat, but they were able to protect themselves with such magics.

Naruto only growled as he was pushed back by an unknown force that deflected his strike. He had never fought a member of the Yousei clan, so he had to do trial and error for this fight.

Raising his sword once more, he did a feint against the waiting elf and tried to strike from behind, where he was sure that she couldn't deflect. He was proven wrong when as if seeing into the future, the elf turned around in a frighting speed and deflected the strike, knocking him away and into the ground.

"Damn it!" He cursed at the elf, who was giving him a mocking smile.

The elf didn't miss the magical strike that Kushina sent her way as she dodged with almost little effort. Kushina frowned at the almost unfair advantage the full moon was giving this lunatic. However, she knew there was a price for having such power, and she wondered if her target knew as well.

Naruto was looking for an opening, trying to strike what looked like an impenetrable defense. However, all demons had a weak point, or a hidden opening somewhere. The Yousei clan were mainly magic users so their defenses were weak up close but this foe is breaking that tradition in a way. Her magic isn't used for offense, but defense...

Naruto's eyes widened, that was it!

Naruto grinned, which made his foe feel wary. She never liked that feeling that was emanating from that boy. It felt the same as that fool leader Oberon always displayed, unbecoming of a leader.

Hope.

Confidence.

Courage.

All crap!

The elf reigned in her emotions...it wouldn't do to lose her mind now. She had to finish this and be on her way. Her ritual was almost complete and it wouldn't do to spoil it and start all over again.

She stood her guard against two foes, ready to show her superiority to these foolish beings...but nothing happened?

Elf looked at the Angel bitch that was hovering above, doing absolutely nothing. She then looked at the ground target...not moving?

What the hell was going on?

"Why are you not attacking me?" She screamed out, all the while trying to reign in her rage. It was so hard to do so with the full moon...

Naruto didn't move, as if he was frozen in time. He was only standing still in a defensive position, waiting for the inevitable.

Kushina was also in a defensive position, waiting for Naruto's next command. She was about to strike when a shake of her partner's head stayed her hand. She was about to protest, but the reaction from the normally smug elf was surprising.

Naruto was grinning internally, he had found out why the elf was considered untouchable. The purely defensive magic protecting her was considered normal...until he remembered that she was all for attacking from the shadows. That meant she was banking on a swift victory and couldn't use what remaining magic she had to protect herself from the full effects of the full moon. It was as if she was trying to make a pseudo-contract link like Kushina had with him, only with magic.

So if she loses her control of her emotions in battle, it would lead to an opening for him to exploit! All he had to do was wait until she attacked in a frenzy, which would be any moment now if her mood swings were any sign.

**X-X**

That blonde bas...boy was staring at her.

That redheaded whore was staring at her.

A low growl escaped her.

What was happening to her? Her mind...it was giving her unwanted thoughts! She stared at the pulsating moon...why wouldn't it stop?

It was getting impossible to control her feelings!

The anger!

The rage!

Her rage was taking over!

Her-!

**X-X**

A piercing roar of fury enveloped the the battlefield. A large amount of unforeseen magical power was gushing out of the elf's body, as if a dam broke inside her. Her eyes were filled with so much power, it blurred the irises of her eyes. She looked like she lost ontrol of her body as she aimed several bolts of raw magical energy at both Kushina and random objects on the battlefield.

Naruto thought she might be hallucinating things, and that was his cue.

Running as fast as he could, Naruto prepared his sword in a horizontal fashion as he got closer to his raging opponent. When the time was right, Naruto swung with all his strength in a diagonal slash starting at the waist. The blow and the time to get back from the opponent was nearly instantaneous with each other, leaving a slash that glowed blue for a moment before blood came gushing out from the wound.

What Naruto thought would be the end was actually the opposite, as the elf didn't seem to register the normally fatal blow and kept moving as if possessed at him. Her hands were no longer normal or manicured and her hands grew claw like from the nails.

Naruto only stood his ground as the beast like elf charged at him. He was spared the initial attack though by Kushina's intervention of her magic spell.

The elf seemed to hate wind magic as she backed off and tried to launch another beam of energy at Kushina, who dodged it. Kushina nodded as she realized that the full effect of the moon was gradually winning over the elf's psyche. Her movements were erratic and had seemingly no target in mind in the wasteful spending of attack energy.

Naruto took this as his opportunity to inflict more damage to the beast and ran up to the elf, sword charged with his chakra. The sword took the offered chakra and transformed into its second form, the form of the Axe. Naruto made a downward swing, intending to the cleave the monster in two.

It happened, but not in the way they were expecting it to end.

The Axe-Sword went through the flailing elf, splitting her into two jagged pieces. Before they fell and Naruto could breathe a sigh of relief, the two pieces suddenly _re__animated_. Naruto and Kushina were front row to see the show of terror the full moon could really do. The two pieces of the elf, who were once pale white were now grungy gray, as if all life were stripped out of the two pieces. Suddenly, as if by some dark magic, the misaligned pieces grew their missing limbs and body from some dark magic until they were two complete copies of the elf. However, their bodies were ashen colored, unmoving, and lifeless.

The elf...or the what Naruto thought was the original only moaned as if her mind was reduced to a primitive state. The other one, sensing the presence of her kin, moaned as well. Naruto only stared as he almost started hyperventilating. Such horrors! Never in his nightmares could he have brought such a thing up!

Almost as if they were calling for something, the two...walkers were moaning while looking everywhere. After a moment of calling out, they finished and the battlefield stood eerily quiet. Only the sound Kushina's wings were heard flapping slowly, while Naruto and Kushina were trying to find if anything changed with the unusual action the enemies did. After a moment, a wave of dark pressure blanketed the battlefield and Kushina's breathing increased rapidly. Naruto's breathing actually slowed down, as if anticipating whatever was coming. After what felt like a lifetime, Naruto and Kushina were looking around, trying to find out where the source of the dark disturbance was coming from.

Then, it all went to hell, literally.

A huge rumbling was felt around the area, making the buildings around them groan as they tried to support themselves during the shaking. Fortunately for the buildings, the shaking stopped a moment later. Then an image that would haunt Naruto for years to come arrived.

The ground started to crack and split apart to reveal a human hand had stuck through it! The ground around Naruto was also splitting and crackling in several areas at once to reveal more human hands and even human heads were sticking through!

He didn't recognize any of these people but they certainly recognized him. He didn't even know that they could even speak!

"It's him..." One groaned out, while the others looked at him in what looked like malicious interest.

"He..."

"The one..."

"He would only come..."

"He has returned!"

The voices began to overlap and Naruto couldn't make heads of tails of it. Suddenly, one pointed at him...at least his stub where his hand should have been at did.

"The demon..."

Naruto paused...what did that thing say?

"GRAAAH!" The stubbed thing attacked him, and Naruto was forced to counter attack the slow creature and slice him in half.

It should have ended there, but...

Thing was, it didn't stop trying to move, as the upper half began crawling using his hand and stub as a source of movement to get near him. Naruto gritted his teeth and sliced it with an Axe strike, cleaving the creature in two.

The other things, seeing the fate of their kin, moaned, in a louder voice.

"He is doing it again..."

"Run...its coming back!"

"Kill!" One roared and the masses moved slowly, but surely against the summoner.

Naruto only had time to counter as the masses dove at him one by one and didn't get it that they were getting slain in return. To Naruto and Kushina's horror, these things were already up and about, trying to reach him once more. In his increasing panic, Naruto was getting desperate and as a result, he was getting clumsy with his attacks. It didn't matter to the crowd of undead, they kept launching themselves at him, hoping to end him in the most gruesome way possible.

Just like it did to them...

**X-X**

On the rooftops, the figure was piqued. It seemed that the boy was having a hard time dealing with the foe...could he really have been the catalyst that brought him and the old world back from the dark ages of history?

He would only watch and see if they were perhaps wrong in their assumption...

**X-X**

"Why won't these things stay dead?" Naruto asked himself as he slashed at the 40th human demon that tried to get at him. He must have looked like a reaper with the pile of bodies around him. The human things were circling him and one by one they tried to end the summoner's life. Naruto for his part was getting weary of the stench and and his large stamina reserves were already running low. Naruto learned that constantly fueling the sword with his own chakra was exhausting and he was sure that he was running on fumes at this point.

But...

His willpower was much stronger than his chakra reserves could ever be, and that was what was keeping him going.

Another slash went through the next foolish demon that tried to take him from behind and almost as one, the human demons were inching closer, closing the realm of attack that Naruto created with the defeated. Naruto was sure these were demons, as they stepped on the fallen as if they were nothing.

Kushina in the meantime was slowing the new demons advance by using area wind spells on the ones arriving out of the ground. Kushina was breathing heavily but mustered an inner will that allowed her to keep flying and casting spells from her magical core that should have long run dry from use.

She wondered if she could keep it up though.

No time! There were four more!

She began charging another spell...

**X-X**

The figure was getting bored of the repetition going on in the battlefield. He was there to observe, but if the boy couldn't get a move on...

The figure smiled... it could toy with destiny once more.

Suddenly the world shifted and unbeknownst to the people in his personal show, the world would miss them in all but a second for them...

**X-X**

Naruto was getting desperate and he had a gut feeling that something was manipulating the battlefield but to who's advantage is something he couldn't answer...at least he wasn't getting mobbed at once!

Still, they seem to be thinning out, from the lack of attacks that Naruto experienced so far.

However, something wasn't right. To have an entire army of these things and not dogpile on him?

In the lull of an attack, Naruto took the time to look at the rest of the battlefield.

He scanned the area and found at least thirty demons with the the two main elf leaders at the back...

Naruto narrowed his eyes, now that he thought about it, why haven't they even moved? From what he gathered, these things attack by instinct and possibly possession of a past hatred. He heard some of these things mention Konoha and the nine tailed fox demon, Kyuubi.

So why weren't they here in front of him being hacked to pieces? That was unusual...almost like if they're not...

Naruto's eyes widened!

They didn't attack because they weren't actually one of them!

Turning on his goggles for a last bit of use, Naruto focused the goggles' vision to where the leaders stood still...

'_Bingo!'_

Naruto thought correctly and saw that there were no separate beings but instead only one alive being in between them, so the elf summoned these things to fight for her while she watched and stood back in safety.

Well...not for long!

Giving the endless masses no more heed, Naruto slashed through the dull masses and straight for the mass of brightly lit chakra mass that was sitting in front of him unassuming that he was targeting her.

It was all over in a moment with a slash aimed for her throat.

The Elf didn't even have time to gurgle her parting words before falling and disappearing in a red hue.

As if losing their medium, the hordes of fresh human like demons started to collapse and disappear in flashes of light that Naruto often saw when he battled normal demons. He figured that they were always on the field unless they lost their medium, so he had another way of destroying hoards of these monsters next time.

As soon as the masses disappeared, Naruto felt that slight presence disappear from the battlefield and he found the clocktower glowing softly in the distance, but the hands changed from the full moon to...

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes, it was the new moon already? But...that couldn't be! Time here changed in periods of days and always rotated backwards on the clock scale! If he entered the full moon, and it was new moon...

Naruto had to gape, he would've been here for at least three weeks! That meant-!

Naruto missed the deadline! He couldn't take the graduation test!

Naruto's legs felt weak and he nearly collapsed on his knees at the shock of losing his chance at becoming a Genin.

Kushina was also on edge, there was no way a normal demon could manipulate time and she had an inkling that this rapidly cooling corpse had no idea she was being manipulated as well.

She also could barely feel it, but there was another presence on the field...her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in pure horror. The barely noticeable signature was growing rapidly and no longer was trying to hide itself...it held so much pressure for her senses that she couldn't really hold her mouth shut.

Then she turned to see the source and she didn't even bother to try and close her mouth.

It was a boy in his mid teens...but spoke with a very high pitched feminine voice.

"Are you alright?" the boy (girl?) spoke softly to Naruto, who wasn't sure if this was another trick.

"How did you-" Naruto asked, unused to seeing a dainty looking human in the demon world.

"I am here on a whim. I only chanced on your presence, and decided to see what would happen." The human said in the ever soft tone.

"You saw the battle? Does that mean you can see them?" Naruto asked of the person, who smiled.

"Of course, one can't survive here without seeing them. I assume you can see them as well?" The person smiled in a redundant fashion, as if answering the question.

"Of course, how could you not? You are a Devil Summoner after all." The person said with a critical eye.

"How did you know I was a Devil Summoner?" Naruto asked warily, Kushina was already on edge and held only in check her tongue with a spell aimed at the newcomer's throat. She would not engage in combat with this person yet, as she was sure she would be annihilated in an instant.

This person was not to be messed with, at all.

"I have my ways...now I understand you are in a dilemma? I can help you just this once as a show of good will. However, we will meet under very different circumstances in the future and our dealings will be vastly in someone's favor...I'll leave it to you to whose favor it is." The person smiled once more and snapped the fingers in both hands twice.

A rift of energy appeared in the center of the ruined battlefield.

"This portal will take you back to your world just this once. Afterward, you'll have to find another way out."

The person smiled once more and tipped his (her?) head and made to leave.

"Ah! Wait! Who are you?" Naruto called after the person.

The person looked thoughtful as if not being asked that question in some time.

"I suppose...you may call me Louis, just Louis." The person, Louis said with a small smile. He (she?) disappeared with a flash.

Naruto couldn't believe it, another person freely traveled in this realm with such a pace...but Louis was very powerful, he could be sure of that.

Carrying Iruka-sensei on his shoulder, Naruto stepped through the portal with Kushina in tow, trying to find out if they can become Genin at all...

If not, they can always become Devil Summoners.

Either way, the world would change, no matter what would happen.

Naruto wasn't sure if they would be ready, or even if he was ever going to be ready in this strange new world.

He would step through...and find out with Kushina by his side.

**And Done! Another chapter in!**

**I believe this is the longest I've written and I feel proud.**

**I can only hope this will garner new reviews and I hope to read them.**

**Until Next time,**

**Terra Ace**

**Words not counting in bold: 8538 (long!)**

**FutureStamp ©: So here is the revised addition, hope you boys and girls like!**

**Words (revised, non bold): 8753 ( I also discounted the "X-X" from the count for this tally.)**

**Notes: Wow! Revision works!**


	15. Rise of the Devil Summoner

DSN Chapter 15

Devil Summoner Naruto Presents...

Chapter 15: Rise of The Devil Summoner!

Naruto didn't have a phrase to describe what he was feeling right now.

Naruto was shocked when he saw classmates that were in his class doing Genin duties that Iruka spoke so often of in their preparation classes.

It certainly looked bad from his point of view that he wasn't able to make it, and yet so predictable for him to skip what was to be the most important moment in his career. He certainly hit a new low in the eyes of his peers.

It hurt a little to see his classmates move on ahead of him while he was saving their teacher from certain death, but it balanced out with the fact that he did his duty as a Devil Summoner.

In fact, he didn't know what to think about all of this.

He had more pressing matters to attend to though, like finding help for Iruka.

So amidst the astonished stares of the citizens of Konoha, Naruto made his way to the Konoha Hospital to find help for his teacher. Then...he didn't know.

The second part came much easier than he thought when he dropped off Iruka-sensei at the Hospital, for two Chuunin Guards were waiting right outside the building, ready to escort him to the Hokage.

Seeing no other choice, Naruto had to follow them. Who knows, he might be able to convince the Hokage to let him try for Genin rank!

Naruto paused to think while his body was on auto-pilot. Would the old man let him try for it? With the way his absolutely _stellar _academic record he had, he would certainly give him a try...

Yeah right.

A grunt from the leading escort came when he bumped into him accidentally. Soon enough, Naruto was facing the office he hoped that he would lead someday. Seeing it up close this time, Naruto had to wonder why he felt unease at the sudden pressure that the tower hit him with. It seemed so long ago that this was his destination point in his life, and now he felt like what a civilian would feel if he came up to the most important man in the village...

Now that he thought about it, he _was _a civilian coming to the most important man in the village.

**X-X**

At the Hokage's office, Naruto could instantly feel the difference. While warm before, almost inviting if he was pushing it, the place seemed colder somehow, as if the warmth and joy was sucked out of the area around the old man's office.

Naruto wondered if it was always like this, but didn't seem to feel it before.

He wasn't sure if he was prepared for what was next.

When he was ushered in, Naruto saw the Hokage like he never saw him before. The old man seemed to look very old and had a gaunt look to his face. He never noticed that, since the old man was always happy to see him.

Had he always been this way?

"Naruto? Is that really you?" The old man asked with surprise, as if not seeing what was in front of him was actually real. Naruto barely caught the suspicious edge in his tone, as if itching to knife the imposter that was masquerading as himself. Personally, Naruto would too if he was brought someone that hadn't been in front of him for so long.

Well, nothing to do but do his normal thing.

"Yeah...it's me, Old Man." Naruto said with a smile, and almost instantly, the color returned to the Hokage's face. A moment later, he put on a frown, possibly showing his public face to Naruto for the first time.

Naruto wondered if he could school his face like that in an instant?

Suddenly as the face was shown, the Hokage's face was replaced with an angry tone with a matching face. Naruto thought it was the face of an angry monkey.

"Where have you been? We feared you and Iruka dead or gone rogue on us!" He paused, searching for something on his desk and then picking up a sheet of paper.

"Then I get word that you two just suddenly show up out of the blue in the middle of the Civilian Sector, wounded no less! What is going on, Naruto?" He asked of the boy, who had a troubled look on his face. The Hokage was about ready to put up any excuse to end this madness, even if he was to put a kill on sight order for Iruka, and a capture on sight for Naruto.

Naruto's next words would decide their fate.

**X-X**

Naruto was troubled, what was he going to say? He knew he couldn't lie to the old man, it would backfire on him so fast it wouldn't be funny. He couldn't say the whole truth either, what would Gotou-sensei say? He was pretty sure that the old man wouldn't buy it anyways.

Although...could honesty really be the best policy? Gotou-sensei never said he had to hide his new field of study...

Besides, he owed it to the old man, he was pretty sure all those "random" patrols was the old man's way of keeping an eye out for him.

With that resolve, Naruto made up his mind.

So he began his tale of how he became the newest Devil Summoner and all that came with it because of a cat.

When he was done, he didn't exactly get the expected reaction.

The Hokage was stunned to say the least and Naruto wasn't sure if he believed him...that is until he heard him mutter "not again..."

Not again? Did that mean?

Naruto was stunned!

He could not believe it! Not in a million years!

"Old man? Do you know what I'm talking about?" Naruto asked the Hokage, who looked like his old self with a headache. It was entertaining to watch.

"As bizarre as it sounds, I do know what you are talking about...in fact I know which cat you are talking about too...isn't that right, Gotou?" The old man stared at a corner, to which Naruto's surprise, Gotou came right out, as if expecting an introduction all this time.

"It seems that time hasn't been kind to you, Sarutobi." The cat replied with a casual tone. To his credit, the Hokage didn't lose his composure in front of the cat, though Naruto felt that he really, really wanted to.

The cat and old man must have had some sort of tense neutrality, as both cat and man seemed to not want to be around each other for too long. It felt like forced neutrality on the old man's part, but to the cat? It felt like if he was coming in for some afternoon tea.

"I thought you said you were done with this world, Gotou. You didn't seem to be interested in our "fledgling mockery of a world" as you put it." Sarutobi said with a not so subtle tone of accusation. Naruto was confused, he remembered that the village of Konoha was founded nearly a century ago and if Gotou was around to see it happen...

How old was this cat?

"There was no need for me being there, Sarutobi. You and your sensei knew that, as well as that woman. My teachings weren't needed back then, and you know it." The cat replied, to which Sarutobi nodded. Naruto wasn't sure if it was in agreement or to admit to a grudging point.

"Then why have you come back, Gotou?" Sarutobi asked of the cat, whose tail swayed lazily behind the cat.

"My teachings are needed now." The cat said simply and looked to Naruto. Naruto felt the gaze of the old man for a moment before it disappeared, pointing it back to the smug cat.

"I see." The old man said simply and turned to Naruto, who was wondering what happened between the two.

"As you can see Naruto, there have been sightings of your classmates doing what they were expected of after they graduated. They are now Genin class ninjas, fully trained by the academy and passed on to their teachers. You might have noticed some of them with an adult trailing after them, they are known as Jounin, and they are responsible as both veteran protectors of Konoha and as teachers to instruct Genin the ways of the Ninja." The old man paused to take a puff of a pipe he lit before Naruto came in.

"This is where you came in, and it presents a problem." Sarutobi said, to which confused the boy.

"Huh? How so?" Naruto asked the old man. The Hokage took another puff from his pipe before explaining.

"If you had graduated on time, you would have been assigned with a team number and a set of two students and a Jounin teacher. As it is however, the semester's roster is full of graduated students and there is no room for a late entry. Unfortunately, this means that you may not join this year's graduate alumni and have a team to call your own." Sarutobi said to the boy, who stood shell-shocked. The old Hokage could see why though. It must have been absolutely crushing to someone whose dream was to become a future leader of his village. Perhaps it was for the best that he didn't become a ninja, he mused. A civilian should have no trouble hiding from _certain _people than a ninja who was a highlighted target.

"I...I..." Naruto stammered, trying to accept what he just heard. Deep down, he knew that he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell to become a ninja, but to hear it out loud...that was different.

He was about to break down in...what?

Tears? He promised himself that he wouldn't cry, ever since that day.

Frustration? Anger? He knew the old man was saying something perfectly reasonable. He shouldn't have expected anything else.

Depression?

What he didn't expect to feel was surprise and joy...but he did when the cat scoffed at the old man's proclamation.

"Are you done, foolish boy?" The cat said, as if speaking to the both of them. Naruto stared in surprise and Sarutobi was imitating the younger one in perfect synchronization.

Gotou knew that from a boy, Sarutobi was as much as a foolhardy idiot as his current idiot was now. He didn't stand for the theatrics that the old idiot kept putting up back then, and he wouldn't stand for it now.

"Are you telling me that they outlawed the reserve list your teacher put in place before he died?"

At the old idiot's head shook, he continued.

"I didn't think so. If they did, those that did would've cost your surviving friends the status they earned after he perished in battle. Every one of your friends studied under him in the reserve program he set up after the first Hokage had died in battle. Each one of you lost a teammate dear to them and were considered unteachable, outcasts in their village." Gotou paused and looked at the flash of memories that was sure to be going through Sarutobi at the moment. Naruto looked on in surprise as his teacher was exuding an aura of...well, cool.

"Then the second Hokage brought you all in and began teaching you the rest of the skills your Jounin teachers couldn't because they were at the front lines. He made you become the most powerful of your generation and you can sit there and tell me that the boy had no chance in hell of becoming a ninja? Do not make me laugh with that pitiful excuse." He finished with a flair that only Gotou can pull off. It was both inspiring and irritating, depending on who you asked.

Sarutobi shook out of his flashback montage going on in his mind to let the words from the annoyingly wise cat was saying to him sink in. He didn't forget them, how they would've become mere civilians if not for his sensei stepping in.

"I do not have time to teach him, Gotou. He would only stagnate in that list if there was no one to teach him, and all current teachers have their hands full teaching others." Sarutobi reasoned with the cat, or at least tried to. Naruto had to concede that the old man had a point. He couldn't just butt in on another teams' sensei just so he could learn from them, it wouldn't be fair.

When it seemed that the old man had Gotou right where he wanted him, Gotou had to one up the old man, as if he was just playing a game with him. In hindsight, Naruto thought, Gotou might have as well been playing a simple game of cat and mouse.

"Who said a teacher had to be a human to be on that list?" Gotou said with a small sway of his tail, assured of his victory. Sarutobi sat there, his pipe dangerously close to falling with that gap open where his mouth had shut.

"You can't possibly mean...?" He trailed off.

"Does that mean?" Naruto said excited. If it was true-!

Gotou nodded.

"I will be your teacher on that roster. It lines up with my plans for you anyway." Gotou answered, to which the boy cheered and jumped up and down in joy. The Hokage sighed, but he had to wonder how the cat was able to weave in through the blocks he had set up for others to fall into without pausing. It was true that there was a reserve list, but it was meant for displaced Genin due to team annihilation or team promotions unbalancing the team roster. Even then, there was an intensive inquisition into actually being placed into that list.

However...the cat had a point. He also owed that cat more than he could ever tend to, for if not for the cat, Konoha might have not survived its fledgling years.

It also helped that he liked the boy in question.

"If that is all, Sarutobi, I will take my charge and begin training him." Gotou said and started to walk out of the office. Naruto started to follow but was called back by the old man.

"Ah, Naruto! Come here a moment." He called out to the boy. Gotou turned to see what would happen but a nod from Sarutobi told him that he would be along shortly. Gotou nodded back and walked out of the office.

When Naruto was back in front of the Hokage, he spoke.

"What I am about to say is what you should have heard from Iruka on your day of your supposed graduation. However, I am adding something that even he doesn't know about. Let me begin." Sarutobi puffed once more before beginning.

"The history of Konoha wasn't always as pure as its future is. We, as a village did and witnessed terrible things that we would hope to never repeat. However, with each deed we did, we had something that the other villages never had."

"What's that?" Naruto asked of the old man. The Hokage smiled.

"We had a cat." He replied, to which Naruto almost face faulted.

"A cat? You mean Gotou-sensei?" Naruto asked after he recovered. The Hokage nodded.

"Yes, since the days of the first Hokage, we had an unusual amount of trouble from outside sources that the other villages didn't have. Sickness in unusually higher numbers than we could have handled, "bandit" attacks rising within the days since the founding, and to top it off, corruption already within the village. It was truly dark times within the village of Konoha."

A puff from the pipe, and he continued.

"Then when all was at its darkest, a cat suddenly appeared in the arms of the first Hokage's wife. She claimed that it was always there, judging and observing them. She claimed to have pleaded with the cat to help them in exchange for allowing him to pick out a single student, to which the cat agreed." Sarutobi paused to put more tobacco into his pipe, to which Naruto wondered where he was getting his tobacco from. A minute of puffing later, the Hokage continued his story.

"The cat walked off and almost instantly, our problems became non-existent. Our bandit raids stopped, a map of the settlements laid out to our warriors. Sicknesses that were killing people daily were suddenly stopped, making our young village the epitome of health and allowing us to expand to what we see today. Our corruption was lessened considerably, but the cat said it was by our own success that they were lessened, and not by his doing. I don't believe that he was so neutral in this matter, but we didn't have any evidence that he played a part. We had a more amicable relationship from then on with the local merchants and town mayors."

"After that, we expected for him to call in his favor and lined up our best students for him to choose. Suffice to say, he never showed up and life went on as we knew it." Sarutobi finished, his pipe steadily smoldering. Naruto was awed by his sensei's history with the village, it was certainly a story worth remembering.

"With his declaration, he has claimed his favor with the village and we can do nothing but abide to it. He has aligned you and himself as reserved mercenaries of the village. Almost all villages have a list of mercenaries to call upon should war happen between any of our villages so it isn't anything special to look upon. That way, no one will ask twice about this." Sarutobi turned his gaze down as he produced what Naruto was dreaming about ever since he began the academy.

A headband with the village's insignia.

"Is that?" Naruto asked, excited about the prospect if he was correct. The Hokage nodded.

"This is a variant of our headbands that we give to our dedicated mercenaries. It doesn't differ from design but it is considered stronger than the assigned headbands we give to the regular forces. It has a sensory seal that our seal masters put on each headband on to alert the mercenary to our callings. It also is tear resistant and the plate is made of solid steel, so it weighs a little more than others. Other than that, it doesn't differ from any other headband. While that means you wouldn't be able to partake in the Genin missions, you are free to do any mission that your sensei deems you appropriate to." Sarutobi said to the boy before handing him the headband.

Excited, Naruto wrapped the headband around his head and noticed that it weighed a little more that what should be like. However, since he didn't have a regular headband to test it with, he couldn't be sure.

"Does that mean I'm a mercenary now?" Naruto asked, a bit put out that he wasn't an official ninja like he wanted to. Sarutobi, sensing this, shook his head, but not in a negative manner.

"Yes and no, Naruto. You have access to mercenary gear and mercenary type missions we set aside for the mercenaries in our employ. However, your situation has called for you to be considered for ninja missions so you'll be able to come and go as you please. However, this also limits you in some ways." Sarutobi explained to a confused Naruto.

"I'm limited? How?" He asked.

"For one thing, attending an advancement exam is almost next to impossible without a willing team to take you on. You may not stock up on too much gear such as Shuriken and Kunai in large quantities since we bar mercenaries from carrying that much gear." Although, Sarutobi thought, mercenaries weren't that much keen on ranged weaponry, preferring close combat instead.

"One final thing that limits mercenaries is that they aren't able to be considered in specialized groups such as ANBU. If that doesn't appeal to you however, it is only a formality." Sarutobi explained to Naruto.

Naruto for his part, didn't seem to be bothered too much by the limits. He wasn't overly dependent on Kunai or Shuriken anyways and ANBU was a source of boogeyman nightmares when he was younger, so that wasn't so much as a goal to him. It did sting to be almost barred from advancement exams but he would always find a way.

"If that is all, I believe your teacher is about to burst from waiting on you." Sarutobi said with a smile, and Naruto matched before saluting the old man and exiting. Sarutobi kept his smile as he found that Naruto, being presented with two choices and barred from one, found a way to make a third choice all by himself.

Before he left, Naruto wondered how the old man recognized him? From what he could remember from Iruka-sensei's lessons, ninja never took a person at face-value, so he had to ask.

"Hey old man..." Naruto caught the old man's attention.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"How did you know it was me? I could have been someone else." Naruto asked and pointed out the normally rookie flaw. The Hokage was impressed that he remembered that particular detail. However, he knew Naruto, by his mannerisms and personality. If that failed however, he knew that no imposter can replicate..._that _chakra.

"I can see you coming from a mile away Naruto. You have a certain quality that identifies you to our ninja. Now I believe that Gotou is really about to burst through the door looking for you." Sarutobi explained to the boy before dismissing him. Naruto nodded confusedly and walked out of the door, to which a barely restrained cat hopped on the boy's head.

It was a long time since that cat had an interest in anyone and he hoped to see how Naruto would fare under that cat's mysterious tutelage. He put on a frown though, as he wondered if Naruto's path and Konoha's path were always going to be aligned with each other.

Mercenaries' loyalties weren't exactly binding to one particular village, except for those few rare cases.

He wondered if Naruto's and Konoha's views were always going to be in sync?

He sighed.

He certainly hoped so.

**X-X**

Expecting a reunion wasn't on the top of Naruto's list, but lo and behold, a welcoming party was waiting for him when he came back to the compound. The first thing he got from Ino was a slap to the face and a few choice words that Naruto won't repeat to himself or anyone any time soon. He did get a hug afterward, which was comforting since he thought that Ino was really angry from her expression.

Hinata was much more gentle however. She said that she missed him and gave him a hug as well. He would've said that he enjoyed Hinata's demeanor more when asked to compare, but he knew that both girls had their own way on dealing with boys.

He also noticed that Sakura waved and greeted him warmly. Neji was there and was somehow trying to keep another boy from eating all the food. He did gave a nod to Naruto before trying to restrain the boy with the help of a girl who was probably his teammate. Now that he thought about it, almost half his classmates were there. Naruto smiled at the way all of his friends were there, it was heartening to see how they gathered at the compound.

He also noticed a few new faces to the compound. He noticed the silent boy, Shino was there along with Kiba laughing with Hinata as they hung together with an older lady with unusual clothing. At least Kiba was laughing, Shino was just standing still. The dark haired lady seemed to be wrapped in bandages with only a hint of a red shirt underneath. Ino was trying to boss around Shikamaru and his friend Chouji into doing something other than sleeping or eating. Sakura was also trying to speak to the class ice block Sasuke and another boy that Naruto didn't recognize. He didn't see either Ino's or Sakura's teachers around though.

That is until a loud, hearty voice sounded through the compound gates and Naruto turned to see a bearded man carrying a case of what looked like soda. He also noticed that he pocketed a bottle of beer away from sight, but was doing a poor job of hiding it from either Ino or the bandaged lady. He was also smoking a cigarette and he looked like the old man if he took up cigarette smoking instead of the pipe.

That left Sakura's teacher and he or she didn't seem to be anywhere around. It almost looked sad but it seemed that it wasn't somehow. Suddenly, his instinct flared and he looked to the trees surrounding the compound.

Sure enough a very strange man reading an orange book stood in close proximity to Sakura and her teammates from above. He also had a sandwich in his hand that disappeared when Naruto blinked.

All in all, Naruto thought his friends had a mixed bag of teachers.

He did notice that Neji didn't have his sensei here.

When he asked, the boy only looked frantically and was relieved when he found that his teacher wasn't there. He went on to explain that having both the boy and the teacher in close proximity tended to have a headache waiting for him when they departed so he was glad that he wasn't here.

**X-X**

When nightfall came and most of the guests had left, Naruto stared at the sunset with both Ino and Hinata by his side. Ino seemed to hang out more if only to confirm that Naruto wouldn't disappear on her again. Hinata had that same reason, but had another reason in her mind.

She was contemplating if she should tell Naruto about her situation with her eyes. Normally, she would keep it a secret from everyone until she had more information on her mysterious eyesight, but she felt that it had something to do with Naruto, however little.

She was interrupted by Ino however. It looked like Ino had to head back to her home and was saying her farewells.

"While this is real romantic, I have to go Naruto. My dad needs me before closing to restock the flower shop. See ya!" Ino said and waved at the last two on the balcony before leaving the compound. Naruto wondered where the whole romantic bit came from, but he figured that this was her way of saying that she missed him.

The moon was barely showing when Naruto decided it was time to head on in. He did stop at a call back from Hinata and wondered what was up.

At Naruto's halt, Hinata had to steel her nerves if she was to go through with this. She felt that if she couldn't do this today, she may never get another chance to do so. So with that in mind, she called him out.

She hoped that nothing would interrupt her now.

"I need to talk to you about something. It is very important." She began, to which Naruto listened. She was glad to see that he was so serious when he was listening. It gave her a confidence boost and she continued.

"Remember when I wanted to talk to you about it a few months ago? After that conversation, I experienced something strange." She said and watched Naruto's face as if to gauge the revelation. To his credit, Naruto didn't seem to shift from surprised to horror or disgust. With that, she continued.

"After that, I had to wonder what changed in me? What was it that I had that set me apart from my other clan members? Was it a personality shift? Or was it something else? I didn't know...yet." She paused. Was having a heart to heart with someone she considered her best friend really this hard?

"Then I activated my bloodline. What I saw was startling." She said quietly, as if expecting a criticism from her friend. She knew that Naruto would never say something mean without reason but sometimes living the majority of your life with a critical family sets certain routines in your expectancies.

Instead, Naruto asked a question.

"What's wrong with it? I don't think it was that bad..." Naruto tried to tell her reassuringly, but instead it had an opposite effect.

Hinata snapped.

"It's not bad? This shouldn't happen! Byakugan!" She cried out, desperate to drive the point home to Naruto. Her eye veins bulged out like normal, but instead of a pure white iris, her eyes became more pronounced with a lavender shade and having a near visible iris.

"I can see everything in color! I can see all around me as if I did not activate my eyes! I shouldn't be able to... I should have eyes that pierce walls and see chakra points so I can use my family's moveset...instead, I can see things in color and instead of chakra points...I see something else." Hinata said, her eyes deactivating and tears falling out.

Naruto didn't know what to say. He didn't have to as Hinata sobbed and continued her story.

"Now I see several things that I shouldn't be able to see. I see something that could only be in the minds of the insane or fearful. I see..." Hinata trailed off, as if afraid to say it.

"Hina-chan...are you telling me you can see...demons?" Naruto asked of the girl, who widened her eyes. Almost disbelieving, she nodded her head slowly.

"How...how do you know? I thought I was all alone..." She said softly, as if seeing her friend in a whole new light. As in response, Naruto nodded and pulled out Kushina's capsule.

A flash later, and Kushina opened her eyes to see Hinata staring at her. Kushina looked at her partner and back at her.

"Naruto...are you sure?" She asked of him. He nodded and stared back at Hinata.

"You have a winged guardian...I can understand her. She almost looks like an angel..." Hinata said, awed by the beauty that Kushina naturally radiated. Kushina stared at the pale eyed girl in shock at the fact that she heard her. Naruto was astounded that another could understand her and was possibly the only one who could understand the language of the angels clearly.

"How could you hear her? I thought only I could hear her." Naruto asked, still in wonder at another soul that could hear his only partner.

"When I battled my doppelganger, I heard a voice...and I felt a guiding hand point me to victory against it. It felt warm...familiar even. Then I heard a phrase that I never heard of at all, even no mention of it in the records of the main family library. It gave my strikes a near holy meaning to the demonic entity."

"What was the phrase?" Naruto asked, interested in the information. He felt that it cultivated his interest as a result of being a student of Gotou.

What Hinata spoke of to Naruto had a surreal feeling to everyone present. Hinata didn't even speak normally, but instead in a language that only appealed to Kushina.

It was angelic language of the highest order to an angel like Kushina. To Naruto, she was speaking in an unknown, yet almost holy language.

"Naruto...she spoke the phrase of the light spell Hama..." Kushina said softly and then her eyes widened as if unlocking a memory.

"I remember...I can use it now..." She said softly...and flashed for one second and then returned to normal.

"What happened Kushina?" Naruto asked worriedly. Kushina smiled and it calmed Naruto down, Hinata saw with a twinge of jealousy. She hoped that her smile could one day calm Naruto the same way as she could.

"Her phrase...I think it unlocked a skill that I had forgotten somehow. I was sure I knew it, but her phrase just suddenly brought to light the knowledge to use the light spell Hama to my battle skills." Kushina paused and turned to see a lone dummy in the middle of the field.

"I shall demonstrate, watch closely." She said before speaking softly under her breath. Naruto and Hinata could hear her clearly however as if she was shouting it to the world.

"Light...the clan of my brothers and sisters guide my hand in passing judgment on you! _Hama_!" She said with a fierce light that danced across her eyes as the dummy was wrapped in slips of paper that radiated with an intense light. Naruto noticed that Kushina's hands were wide open in the direction of the target dummy.

Her eyes flashed once more before she clenched her hands shut and the dummy _exploded! _Each of the slips of paper exploded in a burst of light that targeted each of the dummy's weak joints like arm sockets or the slightly rusted spring from being exposed to the rainstorm. After the bursts of light, a dome of light enveloped the dummy before a flash of light burst out and then it was over.

When the light show was over, nothing remained of the dummy except a blackened pile of ash that was swept away by the winds. Naruto and Hinata was watching in awe at the sheer power of the spell. Kushina seemed oddly saddened at the end result. It was as if such a spell wasn't to be used lightly.

"To have such a spell in my repertoire... it is frighting sometimes." Kushina finished, her eyes cloudy and repentant.

Hinata was both awed and frightened at the prospect of the winged guardian. Her fears soon shifted to a fear of herself. Was she even human anymore?

Feeling doubt, she closed her eyes and started to finish her story.

"See what I have become? Hearing words that the world doesn't understand... and as a result, cut off from a sense of normal life. My powers...feared by my father, and my sister...my sister can't even look me in the eye anymore."

"So what am I going to do? Live my life in isolation? I don't want to...I don't think I can handle it. My team tries to include me, but I can't see past the strained politeness they set for me just yet. I can't even make contact with Neji-niisan because it isn't his turn to get the report...what in the hell am I going to do?" Hinata shouted out the last part and Naruto was seriously thinking this was the day that so many different things happened to his view on life.

He personally never thought he would see the day that Hinata would even swear out of combat...it was weird to even imagine so much as a light cuss coming out of her even when she is at her limit in anger.

However...Naruto did see the underlying pain that Hinata skillfully hid from everyone for who knows how long. He would applaud her actor skills, if it wasn't so painful for her to do so.

To see a girl cry was one thing...to see a girl cry and feel alone is something that he could never abide by in good conscious.

Hinata was crying again, feeling no response from her friend after she poured out her heart to him. Deep down she hoped that she still had a friend in him...but was she wrong? Was Naruto superficial like all others, respecting the rewards and fearing her father?

She didn't want to think that...but...

but...

but!

Then...

"Hey, hey don't cry...so what if you're different? I still think you are Hina-chan."

Hinata's sanity paused and then sighed in relief.

She was right to believe in him.

"Really? Do you mean that?" She asked of him. Naruto smiled and nodded, as he could see nothing more that wouldn't make her anything less in his eyes but a girl who can see demons...totally normal in the supernatural world.

And he was normal just as well.

After a very gentle tackle aimed at him connected (something the Jammin' Ninja Manga described as a : Glomp), Naruto saw a very tender side of Hinata that very few, if any at all, would ever see. She had, in one night, poured out her very soul out to him and was very vulnerable to only him.

Naruto was thrilled and scared at the same time. How can one person put that much faith in him? Was she really that lonely? He didn't know if he was even worthy of even half that happened tonight.

He felt a resolve form up inside of him. He felt that if he didn't feel worthy, he would work his way to earn that kind of trust!

What he didn't know (or notice), was that an almost invisible rope of chakra bound these two beings as sworn friends for life. A pact bound them to always support each other, and that can never be broken.

It was the solidifying factor that would help both Hinata and Naruto in the future.

For Naruto…who knew when that factor would help him?

For Hinata… she somehow knew that the bond between them helped her everyday.

**X-X**

The next day, Gotou instructed Naruto to go into the mission hall of the Hokage Tower. Naruto, with the explanation that if he didn't get some honest to goodness experience, he wouldn't be able to advance in missions and be stuck doing mundane things like babysitting or helping a reluctant populace with their day to day tasks.

So with that in mind, Naruto was at the mission hall, and with the mercenary headband in place of his black bandanna shining like the future he held close to his heart on his head, he went on in.

It felt different now that he was in the service of a village. When he was a student, he didn't get a good look (not for any effort of trying) at the day to day operations of the ground floor of the Hokage Tower. He saw various ninjas and a few civilian consultants running around with stacks of papers in their hands along with various people asking the village for support on their various problems. For example, he saw a well off, but very...large lady hammer on that she lost her precious cat...named Tora.

For some reason, he didn't envy anyone who went after a cat named Tora...

"Ah, Naruto!" A voice called out to him.

When he turned, he saw a well recovered Iruka at the side of the Hokage. He was smiling and so was the Hokage. He couldn't help but smile back as he presented himself, with all his gear intact.

Iruka finally had a good look at his former student and suffice to say...it was an improvement. He did have some concern that he was authorized on mercenary class missions but after the Hokage explained that his talents were better utilized on mercenary missions than on a waiting list, Iruka was willing to give the young boy a chance.

He had already proved himself capable of getting out of trouble in that other world...funny that he didn't think anything else existed other than humankind. It showed how little he knew of his world, and how much Naruto knew of his own.

He couldn't have been prouder of his student than he was right now.

The Hokage spoke, after silently seeing the proud emotion going through the young teacher's face and he wondered how much support did Naruto garner just by being himself.

He had the ability to raise an army of friends and that showed that he had the potential to lead an army of soldiers as a leader of men.

"I'm glad you came for your first mission, Naruto. I've got the perfect one for you." The Hokage said and handed Iruka a scroll marked with a D-rank mission but had a special "M" marking on the tip of the seal marker.

"This is an unusual request coming from one of our border towns. They have had some disappearing cattle and even a resident or two have gone missing. We believe that they have some bandits terrorizing them or perhaps some wild animals. It shouldn't be hard for someone just starting out, as this is probably guard duty for some livestock." Iruka read the details of the mission to Naruto, who nodded.

"Successfully completing this mission will garner you a decent pay grade and of course, more missions. You will leave with an escort of a Genin and Jounin tomorrow morning and we will expect a mission debrief when you come back. Dismissed!" The Hokage said to Naruto with a smile. Naruto smiled back and saluted before exiting the building.

Despite his confidence, Iruka had to wonder if Naruto would be fine on his own? As if sensing it, the Hokage turned to the worried teacher.

"Don't worry Iruka, despite his inexperience, I have full confidence in him. He is special and if something were to go wrong, his escort team is close by. Their escort mission isn't too far off should he need help. He will be fine, Iruka."

Lightened by his words, Iruka felt his confidence in Naruto bolster.

He would be just fine...right?

**X-X**

When he got home that evening, he was greeted by Gotou and Victor. Well, he was greeted jovially by Victor and a nod from Gotou. When he told them of his upcoming assignment, he was personally briefed by Gotou, who told him of a very different situation.

"While the monkey's intelligence team is mostly correct, wild animals nor bandits are responsible for this. This is a case and it will be treated as such. I believe that a portal to the dark world has opened in that town and it is attracting all sorts of demons to feast upon the livestock. You may have been informed that a few people have gone missing and you may need to keep an eye for either the people wandering into the dark area or for the ghouls that are feasting on them." Gotou said to the boy, who was glad that he could find pieces for some of the iffy details on the mission scroll.

"I think I may have a timetable on how these portals open." Victor said and started to pull a rather detailed chart from...somewhere in his coat.

"When there are more people in an any given area, the chances of a dark portal of the area coming to be increases. However, it is also true that the number of people is a factor in how long they stay open. So while the town has a dark copy, it seems to open at a certain time. From what the scroll details said, they happened at night and so you'll have to begin your investigations at night in order to rout the problem."

"Heed his words well, Naruto. This is a man who spent the better part of a millennium in the dark world voluntarily. Use your skills to the maximum and don't let anything deter you from your objective. Rest up...you will need it." Gotou finished his student's briefing.

Naruto nodded and began to rest for his mission in the morning. He had a lot of work to do, and it wouldn't be a quick day in or day out mission like normal in his village.

He wondered if he was ready?

He shook his head. Ready or not, he had a mission to do and the mission would not wait for him. So what else to do but meet it head on?

Naruto grinned and went to sleep.

**X-X**

**And that is a wrap!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I've got nothing but a lot of time since I'm taking physics and it is a bore so far...should I be worried that I find this easy? Then again, I am taking engineering so it shouldn't be a challenge.**

**Here's a question to the readers!**

**Seeing a truly abhorrent fic with terrible spelling or a truly unreal plot (IE. Pill taking/magic ritual/absolute trust in something that should never be trusted etc.), would you give your misgivings on it?**

**I'd like your feedback in either a PM or a review, and I'll see you all later!**

**Words without bold: 7345**

**FutureStamp ©: So, here is another touched up chapter. Nothing major changed, so enjoy!**


	16. Mission One: Burning Hopes

**DSN 16: Devil Summoner Naruto Proudly Presents:**

Mission One: Burning Hopes

* * *

A shrill beeping sounded throughout the room as Naruto woke with a start. He was sure that his alarm clock didn't make such a sound and looked toward where he kept it. What he saw wasn't his soft sounding alarm clock (his normal one wasn't fully intact as his volume knob was stuck at the softest setting, making Naruto learn to become a light sleeper whenever his alarm was involved.).

Instead of his usual alarm, he found a brand new, if funny looking alarm clock. The volume knob was fully working and it had a short and loud beeping mode. Naruto's attempts to stop it somehow caused it to ring louder.

Finally giving up, he put his hand and pressed as many buttons on top as he could with his hand. A small time later and the beeping stopped, to the relief of Naruto.

Looking at the time on his new alarm, he learned that it was five thirty in the morning, almost time for the regular forces of Konoha and some merchants to open up for the day. He supposed that he should learn to wake up around this time, since he wasn't completely sure that he would have to leave at the crack of dawn or perhaps later on. Maybe when he was sure of the departure routine, he would let up on his decided wake up time.

Checking on his clothing, he was surprised to see a clean pressed suit of his summoner clothing hanging in his closet. He had a feeling that either Gouto had it pressed (where would he get the money...or representative to take it to?) or that he told Victor to have it pressed with some contraption of his.

At this point, Naruto realized, that either one was a viable option.

Deciding to take a bath, he wandered into the bathroom. No sense in having to smell like a dog while he was on his first official mission for the village!

**X-X**

As the rest of the village was waking up on its own, Naruto was busy trying to get some breakfast going...or rather, trying to find a ramen cup that wasn't expired.

Personally, he never thought he would see the day when a cup of dry ramen expired naturally, as he was sure he would eat it way before that happened.

However, his search of food found a very nondescript cup with its label paint faded off. Opening it revealed to find an odd version of ramen that Naruto thought was vegetable ramen at first. However, he deciphered that it was in fact chicken ramen that sat way too long in his fridge.

With a sad huff, Naruto tried to put the cup into the trash...only for the cup to nearly collapse from his touch.

Either it was sitting there for way, way too long, or it was some nightmare that Naruto didn't even know he was capable of having.

He chose the former, naturally. He sighed, he really needed to clean out his fridge more often.

**X-X**

After finally getting dressed and arming himself with his trusted sword and revolver, he stepped out to see that it was already light out, although the was peeking out from behind the Hokage Monument, it was a beautiful sight that Naruto thought he would be seeing more often with his new schedule.

Checking himself for all his essentials(his summoning tube with Kushina, his belt with a small combat knife, his underwear), he lifted his pack and started down the stairs. At the same time, he heard another door opening and saw Hinata exiting at the same time.

"Morning, Hina-chan!" He called out as he started down the stairs, a rare feat for the usually vaulting boy. Hinata was about to comment, but saw the pack on his back. She thought that he must have some rather fragile things to carry to not warrant a jump over the rails.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun..." She said softly, her previous conversation with the boy fresh within her mind. Her faith in the boy was something she would never again doubt, and she would crush any thought of that happening again.

Seeing him so early however, gave her a curious thought.

"Where are you going? Do you have a mission?" She asked, curious about his well assembled uniform and cloak. She never imagined that Naruto would own a cloak of such high quality! Coupled with the uniform that she was barely used to seeing on the handsome boy, it made his features look more mature and handsome. Then her question caught up with her brain and she cursed mentally, how could she ask him that? He wasn't a ninja...

Still something told her that she shouldn't have worried so much.

From Naruto's point of view, he wondered why she would ask that he had a mission, before he figured that she never saw him with his sword, gun and cape.

"Oh yeah! I didn't tell you, did I? I'm working for the Hokage now!" He said brightly. He also felt his forehead for that vital piece of identification, and he smiled that he didn't forget his shiny new headband.

She noticed it too, but she thought it looked a bit different than hers, which was wrapped around her neck. It looked like a seasoned Ninja's headband, and a bit outdated, but more pronounced. It certainly looked like it belonged to Naruto, but something was off.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was probably something cosmetic.

"Oh? Are you a ninja?" She asked, trying to find out if there was a team that got a new addition. Maybe it was a team that failed but got Naruto instead of failing outright.

Naruto smiled, but it held a tiny bit of...shame? Sadness? He didn't know.

"No, I got hired on as a mercenary." He said simply, to the shock of Hinata.

"A mercenary?" She asked, the shock value still within her face. Naruto thought that she might have been shocked that he wasn't a ninja. He looked away, a bit self conscious about Hinata's inquiring eyes (he thought she would make a very effective interrogator).

"Well, the Hokage did say I could take ninja missions, so I'm kinda like a mercenary ninja!" He reasoned with the girl, to which the girl nodded.

"I see..."Hinata said, still trying to find out if there was any mention of a mercenary ninja...she would have to look up the local records at the library.

"Well...its not like I won't become Hokage! I mean, its just taking me down another path. You can bet that I'll get there one day!" Naruto said, trying to reassure her (and himself), that his goal had not changed.

"That is not what...its just dangerous now, isn't it? I just realized that now." Hinata said, realizing that it could be the last time any of us would be this carefree.

It was unsettling to her.

Catching on, Naruto smiled at the girl. He was relieved that Hinata didn't think any less of him about his predicament, and that he was wondering if he was going to have any free time at all now.

"Yeah...whatever!" He said, breaking the somber mood. Hinata stared in surprise, but smiled at the ease that Naruto could do at breaking any type of sadness for at least a moment.

"If we have time to wonder how dangerous our missions will go, we have time to do dangerous missions and kick butt! Let's go all the way and show everybody that we aren't afraid of danger!" He said with a grin so wide that he could have reflected the sun with a ping. At least, Hinata certainly thought so.

With that said, he went back to a semi-serious moment and stared at the rising sun.

"Let's have this conversation again, Hinata, when we're about to kick the bucket, ok?" Naruto said, in both humor and seriousness. Hinata looked at his face carefully, as if memorizing the moment before nodding.

"Yeah...let's." Hinata answered with a look that crossed between worry and relief.

And so, they departed all the way to the commercial sector, with them parting halfway there as Hinata had to meet her team at a designated spot.

Naruto stared at her retreating back and wondered if he would ever find camaraderie like that? His mind was already wandering as he went his separate way. Could he have been more efficient with a team by his side? Could he somehow involve them in his new duty?

Shaking his head, he made his way to the Hokage Tower and would wait for whatever team that would escort him toward his way to his very first mission.

**X-X**

"Eh? We're taking you?" A shrill voice pierced the hustle and bustle of wandering ninjas, clients and guardsmen throughout the Hokage Tower. It was reverberating for a while as nearly all inhabitants within hearing range wondered what that shrill piercing screech was coming from.

Naruto was surprised to see Ino and the rest of her team waiting for him inside the mission hall and his surprise was loudly surpassed by Ino. The two boys behind her, Shikamaru and Chouji, as well as her sensei, Asuma, looked slightly (read: immensely) less surprised than her.

After trying to gain more information from her sensei ("Did you know we're taking him?"), and even interrogating the boy in question ("How was I supposed to know?"), she settled down in line when a stern sounding Asuma (though Naruto saw through the dramatic flair that Asuma put on) barked at her to calm down.

After exchanging hellos and pleasantries, Naruto and Team Ten, as they were called, set off to the town of Hingaku, the Village of Pleasant Pastures.

**X-X**

As Naruto walked with the escort team, he was thinking back on what the mission detailed. He knew that from Gouto's briefing, it wouldn't be just guarding a bunch of livestock. He was being sent there on a cover story in order to investigate and get rid of the problem that was creating havoc in Hingaku.

It didn't seem that Team Ten knew what was really going on, although he wouldn't put it past the old man to tell the sensei at least. If he did know, he wasn't really showing it.

Thinking on it a little more, he gathered three questions from the mess of data that came from the mission report.

What was it?

How did it (they?) get there?

How can it be stopped?

He quickly put on a guess to the first question as being something that ranged from Ghouls to perhaps a horde of bloodthirsty Pixies. He would also hazard maybe a predator demon from the Reichou clan.

He would have to find out.

"So Naruto...?" Ino came up to Naruto's side, while Naruto was trying to find a foothold in the confusion that was the case. Needless to say, he was startled from his thoughts.

"Wha?" Naruto said dumbly, showing how out of it he was. Ino giggled at the sight while Shikamaru smirked at Naruto's inattentiveness. Chouji was smiling a bit too, but Naruto felt it was because he opened up a brand new bag of chips.

"What's your job about?" She asked, while noticing that Shikamaru was now listening sharply, even if his body didn't seem to indicate he was listening in. Being friends with the lazy boy allowed her to pick up on the subtle things.

However, she wasn't sure if he wanted him to listen in to this particular conversation...

"Well...I have been assigned to guard some cattle. The town is complaining that their cattle has been dying and they've called me in because they found some of their farmers injured trying to fend off whatever has been killing the animals." Naruto explained his view of the mission. Ino and Shikamaru had eyebrows raised as they knew this was Naruto's first mission. From what Naruto told them, this was easily high D – low C rank work.

"That's some mission, Naruto. We didn't get that type of mission yet, we only get stuff like painting fences or babysitting client's brats." Ino said to Naruto, with Shikamaru and Chouji agreeing in the background. Asuma was smoking silently, but privately smiling at the memories...which was enjoyable since he wasn't really there to "enjoy" the memories.

"So this is your first time leaving the village?" Naruto asked Ino. Shikamaru nodded.

"Yeah, this is the first time we ever had to leave the village. You are probably our first away client ever." Shikamaru said.

"Huh...well that's something we all have lost our firsts of!" Naruto said with a grin. Ino only giggled while Shikamaru and Chouji looked on in confusion when Asuma choked on his cigarette when he inhaled the thing trying to laugh.

As the boys and one girl watched the struggling teacher gasp for air from laughing and the burning stick down his throat preventing him from breathing, the air seemed to welcome this exchange of innocence...

However, the earth in front of them didn't seem too welcoming. They soon came across a stunning and horrifying sight.

The town of Hingaku was in flames.

**X-X**

As they examined the wreckage of the ruined town of Hingaku, Naruto and Team Ten were trying to find out what caused this calamity. It was odd that no one seemed to come out to any nearby towns asking for help from their burning village, especially Konoha, since it was the closest they had for support.

Naruto also noticed how the sky was blue, almost unnaturally blue in the wake of the black smoke wafting from the ashes. Naruto did point out to the rest of his escorts that the blackened mounds of ash were everywhere. He wanted to say it was a coincidence, but even he wouldn't put it past a demon to burn a person where they stand. Naruto had to sigh, as his imagination had gotten gritty ever since he was put in Gouto's care.

Ino, who had any actual inkling of what had really happened, strode up to Naruto and began questioning him about what really happened.

Slowly, he began to piece together the disturbing situation...

"I think it might've been a demon who did this, but look at how the ashes were really blackened on the ground. Fire doesn't do that to wood, only something really flammable like toys or..." He trailed off, leaving it up to Ino to finish.

"Humans...oh god...!" Ino gasped out as she backed away from the pile of ashes. The thought of anything turning a human into that was something that shook her very core. Naruto stood steadfast, but inside he was wondering what would happen if he met such a creature that could do this to someone.

"Naruto! Ino!" Chouji's voice called out as both blondes looked in the boy's direction. He was waving at them to get their attention.

"Asuma-sensei found someone!" He called out, no longer waving but shouting his message across to them. Ino and Naruto looked at each other and nodded before running to catch up with Chouji, who was already going back to his teacher.

When they got there, Asuma was kneeling over a girl who had wide eyes and black pupils. Her exposed skin was badly burnt, as if she was sitting in the hot sun all day. Her hair was frayed and smelled like smoke, but being in a burnt out town would do that to you. She didn't seem to be staring in surprise, just staring that she was alive after...after something had razed her town to the ground.

Finding a survivor in this hell was a miracle in of itself, Naruto decided. The young girl they found in this wreckage was almost catatonic and it wasn't promising anything short of a shocked coma. If left alone, the trauma would've crushed the girl's mind.

Naruto did what he could do, but no one was a real effective medic. Ino and Team Ten were really more of a support group, and they weren't trained in extensive medical arts.

Naruto sighed, and looked to how they could get her to talk but not at the cost of the innocent girl's sanity.

Looking for solutions, his eyes stumbled upon Kushina's Summoning Tube and the idea came to him.

"Kushina, come out." Naruto said softly. a moment later, the tube shined with a green light before abruptly dissipating.

In the space beside him, the red haired angel was ready to fight but wondered why she was summoned when she found no opponent to fight with and looked at Naruto curiously. She privately admitted that she was somewhat glad she wasn't summoned to fight so often, as she liked to just spend some time alone with her partner. The sight around her however, told her that he arrived after a fight or maybe an attack occurred. She then saw the girl, and immediately understood what to do.

However, the contract of theirs was very specific at times. So unless Naruto decided to leave the girl to die (Kushina knew he wouldn't though), she couldn't do a thing as the contract forbade her to act independently. She was allowed however to roam freely as long as she could stay in contact with her partner.

"Kushina, can you heal that girl?" Naruto asked of her. Kushina looked at her partner for a moment before nodding and taking a look at the girl. Since few people could see her, she was completely ignored by the males of Team Ten. Ino however, saw the angel perfectly, but wisely chose to keep silent.

The girl however...

"Am I dying? I see an angel..." The girl softly said, looking at Kushina with akin to awe and a bit of fear. Asuma frowned and looked over the girl, checking for injuries. He didn't find any, but he wasn't sure of any internal injuries the girl might've sustained.

Kushina looked at the girl and smiled, putting the fidgeting girl at ease. She looked over the girl's superficial wounds before glowing with a blue light and containing it within a small orb.

The girl gasped as the blue light seemed to soothe everything. Her mind was slowly becoming hazy, but she wasn't afraid of it. She didn't feel like her village was just obliterated in front of her eyes, nor was her foot hurting anymore...in fact...she felt.

She slumped over, causing alarm within the group (Naruto and Ino excluded).

Asuma was shocked however, when he found that any cuts, bruises and possibly any broken bones were mysteriously healed and that she was fast asleep. Asuma had seen some freaky stuff, but this one was right up there in the top five.

He glanced at Naruto and Ino who didn't seem to be surprised at the initial slump, but figured it might've been something special that Naruto could do. It was surprising that Naruto of all people would become one of "them". If he remembered correctly, the last one with these "special" circumstances was nearly a decade ago, around the time of the Yondaime Hokage.

He shook his head, he had more pressing matters to get to instead of worrying about the past.

"She looks fine, she just fell asleep. Its only natural however...this has been a harrowing experience." Asuma said with relief. Chouji sighed in relief and began opening a bag of chips that would've been devoured hours ago if he didn't see all this happening.

He was just glad that he wouldn't have to see a dead body today, on his first out of the village mission no less!

Shikamaru nodded, but unlike Asuma, he couldn't chock it up to a miracle happening out of nowhere. He wasn't the most pious of Konoha's citizens, never having the mindset pressed on him by his lazy father (although his mother really, really tried...).

Looking at Naruto who was visibly relaxed, even more so than what could be considered normal, he wondered if he had anything to do with it. Even Ino was calm, even more so than usual, so that gave an air of suspicion.

What were they hiding?

He would have to investigate this further.

**X-X**

After going through a basic security checklist, Naruto and group set up camp a couple of miles from the ruins of Hingaku. The girl was sleeping peacefully in Ino's sleeping bag, still drowsy from Kushina's healing.

Shikamaru was busy snoozing, but if you were careful, you could see disturbances in the shadows the campfires gave out.

Chouji was still up as he was tending to a rather delicious pot of soup that he set up with the local ingredients as well as his own. Naruto always knew that he loved food, but it was new to him that Chouji was a really talented cook.

At least Team Ten wouldn't have to go hungry if that was the case, if the quality of this soup was any standard to compare it to.

As the fire was slowly burning, Naruto was pondering at how was he supposed to finish his assigned mission. He was probably sure he would get no reward if the town that was assigned to this mission was obliterated and it would be a hit on his honor as a Devil Summoner if he walked away now.

So regardless of any pay, he would have to finish this. If only for the fact that if he didn't, another town would suffer the same fate as Hingaku.

Now if only Ino hadn't insisted that the team stay to investigate the matter, or if Asuma had agreed. He thought their job was done if they were just there to escort him, but it seemed that their new assignment was to find out what happened to Hingaku and to report to the Hokage about this new predicament.

The hard part was trying to not involve more people than he should, as he couldn't tell if Shikamaru, Chouji, or even Asuma could take in something of this magnitude, at least, he feared, without breaking their minds.

So he began to think, to find some plan to finish the mission...but not to involve those who would probably be slaughtered if they happened to find the cause of this destruction...

"Hey Naruto!" A voice said from his right.

He looked to the voice's owner and found Asuma.

"Hey, Asuma-sensei! What's up?" He replied, liking the somewhat easy attitude of the teacher. He was certainly a fit for Shikamaru and Chouji.

Ino was a different story however...

After a moment of silence, Asuma spoke, looking very serious.

"I'm pretty sure you know, but the old man told me what would really happen." He said with a calm voice, which confirmed Naruto's suspicions about the teacher.

"I'm certain you are probably the only one who knows whats out there...well maybe except for Ino." Asuma said while looking at the only girl on the team berating Chouji for eating nearly all the soup.

Naruto wondered if Ino was the team mother and if Asuma was the rather laid back uncle.

"Our job is to find out what happened to Hingaku and report back with any survivors and intel to the Hokage. However, your job isn't done. You were hired to find and destroy whatever caused this." He pointed to the still smoldering ruins of Hingaku.

Naruto swore that Asuma got a far off look in his eyes for a second before reverting back to normal.

"There are few times in our lives where we see so much destruction and this is one of those times where it reminds a ninja that if we don't do our jobs right, we get that as a result." He paused, trying to let the point sink in to Naruto.

Naruto nodded, but saw the laughing group a few feet away from where they were talking. He wondered when he stopped being so carefree and didn't think it was normal that he found the thought so infuriating that he was separated from his friends so quickly in terms of innocence.

He felt lonely sometimes when he thought about it.

He shook his head, now wasn't the time for it.

"So, what's your next move? Are you going to stay here or are you going back to report the situation?" Asuma asked the boy, as if gauging his worth by his next answer.

Naruto didn't hesitate.

"Of course I'll stay, its my duty as a D-I mean as a mercenary! Its like my code of honor or something!" Naruto said, almost stumbling over the fact that the other two boys weren't supposed to know what he really was instead of some common mercenary.

Asuma nodded, a smile in his eyes and a smirk on his face complete with a fresh cigarette on his lips.

Naruto wondered if all Jounins had some quirk that they earned upon making Jounin. From what he saw, Hinata-chan's sensei was probably wearing only half a shirt with some very form fitting bandages (which he thought looked very, very, very good), and Sakura-chan's and Sasuke's teacher was constantly late, read what looked like porn, and probably never removed his face mask.

He wondered which one he would be assigned to if he was a ninja like his friends were?

Asuma stood up, feeling a good vibe from the young blonde boy next to him.

"Alright, lets put out the fire and get to bed. We have a full day of investigation tomorrow. We might've to talk to the survivor if we need any additional details." Asuma finished and began issuing orders to put out the fire for the night.

Naruto only stared at the teacher with his students before shaking his head. The only difference was that he had no need to follow the Jounin, since the best time to strike was now. However...he wouldn't feel right if he left only to drag the rest of the team into danger.

He would leave when they were asleep, since that was the best time Victor predicted the cause of this would appear.

**X-X**

Naruto slowly awoke to see darkness still around. Gathering his supplies as quietly as he could, he crept out of his tent and stared at the moon still above them. Finding no movement, he jumped out of the small tripwire perimeter that he helped set up and walked to the ruins of Hingaku, where it's aura suddenly became...heavier and grim with each step he took toward them.

Unnoticed, the other blonde in their group waited with bated breath as she heard the footsteps fade away before doing the same and getting her standard Kunai and Shuriken gear that her father gave her for her graduation success.

Stepping over the wire trap, she followed Naruto from a distance. This time, she could take care of herself from any annoying threat like a slime or one of those disgusting Turdaks.

Unfortunately for either of them, Asuma was already wide awake when Naruto made his way over the rather flimsy trap and found Ino doing the same. To Naruto's credit, he had bulkier equipment to handle than Ino, who only gathered her throwing gear.

Asuma briefly wondered whether to get his team motivated enough to pick more heavier equipment than just Kunai, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. He had to get the rest of the team mobilized and ready to find and rescue Ino or Naruto should they get in a bind. This was going to be tough since he was sure he would have to assign either Chouji or Shikamaru to guard the girl, or take her with them as they chased after them.

Sometimes, such decisions gave him a headache just thinking about it.

'Oh well...time to get to work!' He thought as he stretched. He would have take the girl under a sleep tag on her forehead and chase after his wayward student and Naruto.

**X-X**

The stillness of the ruined town reminded him of the Dark World of Konoha, Naruto thought as he walked through the silent ruins. He didn't find anything out of place as he strolled through the blackened roads as the ashes of the victims were swept by the passing winds. While the ruins of the towns weren't exactly picturesque, he wondered if the state of the town was the same in the dark version of Hingaku?

He doubted that, but he wasn't exactly an expert on the dark world was he?

Looking around for an alley or a pulse of dark energy, he focused his senses to the best of his ability. What he found wasn't an entrance, but a very familiar presence...he sighed.

"Alright Ino, you can come out now." He said to the empty street, hearing an almost silent swear as a familiar shade of blonde appeared from the corner of a ruined building. Ino came out a moment later, looking almost between a cross of embarrassment and a light personal resentment, as if angry at herself.

"Guess I need to work on my stealth skills..." She muttered as she caught up to Devil Summoner. Naruto only grinned as he successfully deduced what the resentment was aimed to.

"So, anything?" She asked, silently filling in the question to Naruto, who only shook his head.

"Nothing, I'm trying to find out where they might be coming from, but I don't sense a portal or even a sense that a demon rampaged through here. I'm starting to think that it might be some wild animals or bandits with animals." Naruto explained to a somewhat disappointed Ino.

Ino frowned, she was hoping it would lead to a den of demons somewhere in town and she would be able to help Naruto beat those things. She refused to believe that the Other World was limited to only Konoha, since it wouldn't have made any sense.

But then...Ino had a thought.

What if their lair wasn't in town? What if it was coming from the outer areas? Like a farm, for instance?

"Naruto, what did your mission say about these attacks?" She asked Naruto, who only stared at her before answering.

"Well, all it said was that cattle was being attacked..." Naruto said before his were widening in realization.

"Exactly! Maybe the attacks were coming from a nearby farm? We didn't check any of the farms yet or if there any survivors there, so we might've better luck there!" Ino voiced his thoughts exactly. Naruto nodded, and pulled out Kushina's Summoning Tube.

"Kushina, lets go!" Naruto shouted as the Tube flashed and a minute later, Kushina appeared, ready for anything.

"Kushina, can you sense any type of demon out there? Or maybe something out there like a portal on a farm?" Ino asked of the winged angel. Kushina smiled as if finding the task easy and flew up to the sky above them.

Kushina only stared at her surroundings before holding her hands in a praying motion and closing her eyes. A minute later, she spread her hands to opposite ends and opened her eyes quickly. Her eyes were shining with a pulsating power and found her vision extended to miles beyond her current vision field, making her job a lot easier.

Ino was in awe of the spectacle. She rarely found Kushina in the sky acting like this and it was a sight to see her look so majestic and powerful. The way her eyes were filled with power told her that it was a common power between angels and had her thinking of even greater mysteries that lay inside of Kushina's usually calm demeanor.

A moment later, and Kushina was hovering above the ground again.

"I found something within the edge of my senses...it felt wrong to me. It might be what you were looking for." Kushina reported. Naruto nodded and walked in the direction that Kushina pointed out a minute later.

"Alright, thanks Kushina. Follow me from the skies and watch out for anything suspicious." Naruto said to his partner. Kushina nodded and climbed upwards with a couple of beats from her wings and flew ahead of them, scouting as they followed her to the source.

Almost a half hour passed when they got to the farmlands the town used to draw food from. It looked normal, with a few crops still edible from the masses of crops withering into uselessness. Naruto looked around and a wave of nausea nearly overwhelmed him. The aura...the only thing capable of producing such a thing was a doorway to the Dark World...although he never found it to be this strong before.

He guessed it might be the lack of a city, since towns don't seem to have the control or size to hold on to dark energy such as this. As a result, he felt the presence to be much stronger than usual.

Regardless, he must press on. Who knew if this unchecked energy could spread to other towns?

Looking at Kushina, and she at him, they both nodded and proceeded to actively search for the strongest point. Ino, somewhat disturbed that she was almost getting used to such energy, followed behind them. She pulled out a Kunai and held it at neck level, ready to strike at anything that didn't feel right.

As per Kushina's report, Naruto was slowly guessing where the point of entry was at and found an unusual amount of energy spreading from a barn-house that was nearby, next to a forest. As they stepped closer, each of them could feel the energy multiplying to the point where their senses were being dulled.

However, when they got to the entryway of the barn, the energy dissipated. Naruto and Ino could only guess that they were in some sort of 'eye' of the energy field.

"Alright...lets go in." Naruto said quietly. Kushina and Ino nodded and entered, watching Naruto's back for any possible ambushes. When they entered the barn, they were expecting ambushes, but certainly not...

"A door? What's a door doing in the middle of a barn?" Ino asked, to which Naruto and Kushina shared silently. A perfectly shaped, perfectly perched door was standing in the middle of the barn floor with nothing to support it, as if it was just acting like a normal door to a home or something. The sole fact that their somewhat limited view of physics told Naruto and Ino that something was very, very wrong.

"Should we open it? It might lead us to the problem." Ino suggested, to which Naruto weighed against his decisions.

For one, he could open it, find the problem and when he smashed it to bits, the problem should go away.

'On the other hand...' Naruto thought darkly.

He could open it...and land in even bigger trouble way above his paygrade.

Naruto paused...since when was he so concerned about getting paid, anyways?

Oh right...

While he was owner of mystical and powerful knowledge, Naruto got the feeling that Gouto was always looking for opportunities to use said mystical and powerful knowledge for a price. Naruto thought that after a year, he picked up the same view about it.

That made his current job of a mercenary as both a boon and a letdown to his current view and his old view of honorable ninjas.

"Well...lets go on in then. I'll head in, and you two back me up." Naruto said to the two girls. Just like they did when they entered, Naruto walked up to the door and gripped the door when his instincts flared up and Naruto bolted from the door with a jump back.

Almost as quick as Naruto's leap back, a pair of swords struck the floor where Naruto was standing nearly a minute ago. When Naruto looked to the owners of the swords, Naruto found several humans wearing a black garb with a white armband and matching bandanas. They looked like they haven't slept at all and they were wearing a manic grin.

"Do not touch our master's doorway!" One of the shouted, with the rest agreeing with the speaker.

"Yeah!"

"Waooh!"

"Touch...Die if you do!"

The speaker, who deemed himself leader, spoke to the intruders with a noticeable less manic grin, but his eyes seemed unfocused as he spoke.

"Our Master..."

"Master!"

"Waooh...Master!"

"Our Master does not need your presence here! Leave, or we shall cut you down where you stand!" The leader of the group shouted at them while brandishing their weapons, which consisted of short swords and farming equipment.

Naruto thought they looked like common thugs from his Jammin' Ninja manga, really.

However, this wasn't the time to reminisce, there was a threat in front of them.

He readied his blade and stood in a guarding stance. Ino was behind them with a Kunai in the same fashion.

However, the leader of the fanatics saw a hint of hesitation in the blonde girl's face and he grinned. He could use that to his advantage.

He then pointed his blade toward the enemy and he shouted in an almost dramatic flair.

"Go, my brothers! Shove them back into the storm! Keep them while I beckon our master from the Doorway of Destiny!" He shouted while he walked back to the doorway. Naruto tried to stop him, but was being blocked by the group of followers.

"Stop him!"

"Wooah! Stop them!"

"Die, Die, Die!"

With that, they approached them at a stumbling, but dangerous dash. One of them, however, pulled ahead from the pack and swung his sword at the group, all the while shouting.

"Diediediedie!" He frothed while he trying swing his sword like an Axe or a stick. It was clear this man had no experience with a sword...or with his mental faculties.

Naruto parried it with ease, but he was slowly having a hard time trying to parry the group of maniacs that weren't giving him any chance to breathe in between parries. He was glad though that he had been training, but he wasn't exactly prepared for multiple combatants at once. Kushina was already leading two of them away from the main group with wind spells and using wind manipulations to grab their weapons or use common barn tools and attempted to knock them out with the tools.

Ino was handling herself as well, finding it easy to predict some of the slower ones' movements and even disarming one before being pushed back by an ambushing fighter who stood to the side of the fight, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

As the leader predicted, the group was being pushed back into the outside and the leader was almost bowing to the door as if worshiping it. It seemed to have an effect as the door was growing a pink hue at the crevices of the door as if holding back a pulse of energy with each second the leader was bowing at the door.

Naruto growled, he was hired to stop these maniacs from doing what they did to this town and they will go down right now!

Throwing his foes in a burst of strength, Naruto broke through the lines and dashed toward the leader, who was still bowing and what looked like chanting and screeching at times. He saw the door pulsating with the same pink light and he grew worried when the door started to being pounded on.

He had to finish this fast!

"Take this!" He shouted as he swung his sword at the back of the unsuspecting leader...or so he thought he was unaware as he suddenly dodged it with grace and swung his own sword at the boy, who parried it at the last second.

While Naruto and the leader were dueling, the rest of the followers were circling the other two combatants and it wasn't looking good for them. Kushina and Ino were back to back with the goons circling them and waiting for an order from their leader.

However, with Naruto keeping the leader busy, it was up to insane one of all people to issue the order.

With a mad laugh, he swung his blade and shouted.

"YAHAHAHA! Attack!"

Almost as one, the group tried to swing for the group only to find that they couldn't move?

Ino gasped as she looked down at the confused mob struggling to even lift their feet. Only one person was able to do that and that was the laziest bastard she knew.

"Kagemane no Jutsu...complete." A drawling voice said with a tone that would never ever rise in pitch in his lifetime. Ino looked up and saw the lazy boy with his hands in a hand signal and looking as bored as ever. She did notice that his eyes were sharper, a clear sign of a chakra user. Behind Shikamaru was Chouji who was looking for an opening in the crowd and Asuma was putting down the girl that they rescued in a safe spot before looking at the situation at large.

She was so glad that they came, although it gave her a lesson that she should step it up as a kunoichi.

When she came home, she would give it some more thought.

**X-X**

He would say that it was a bad situation...but he really couldn't ask for a greater warm-up for his team. It helped that it gave him a reason to flex his muscles instead of sitting at the lounge every time a D rank came up for his team.

All in all, it was good.

"Alright...they don't seem to be in their right mind...so I'll have to tone it down a bit..." He said while performing a set of hand signs while toning down the use of chakra needed for this particular move.

"Ino! Get away from the circle now!" Asuma shouted at the girl before toning down the final amount of Chakra needed to execute the Jutsu. Ino only looked at Kushina for help before being grabbed by the angel and lifted away from the circle of followers. To Shikamaru and Chouji, she looked like she was flying away, seeing as they couldn't see Kushina.

Although, Shikamaru swore that a very faint silhouette grabbed Ino and leaped out of the way with her. However, he would need to investigate this further before he could make an decision out of all this.

Asuma was ready as soon as he saw Ino leap out of the way of the trapped group. He said his technique clearly before billowing out a hot cloud of ash upon the group.

"Katon: Haisekishō!" He shouted as he blew out the smoke from his mouth. Ino was tempted to say that all that cigarette smoke was finally coming out, but even she felt the heat from the distance that Kushina lifted her away from and onto the group that was suddenly moaning and screaming in agony.

Asuma certainly toned down the chakra to a degree that it wasn't anything too harmful to civilians. At worst, the move would cause some light burns or reddened skin at best. Granted, the move wasn't exactly meant for crowd control but it said a lot for his control to even tone down below first degree burns.

As his chakra enhanced technique started to simmer down, he stopped blowing hot air at them and waited until it cleared to survey his damage. Soon enough, his attack cleared and found the almost all of them were with light burns and most had all of their exposed skin reddened to a point where if Shikamaru let go of his shadows, most would collapse from being unable to even support themselves.

Shikamaru grunted slightly and Asuma saw the shadows retract all the way back to Shikamaru. Asuma resolved to have his students work on their chakra stores for increased usage time. Otherwise, they would end up dead if someone could outlast them in battle.

As soon as the shadows retracted, the group collapsed as their burns were making it near impossible to remain standing, let alone put up a threat to them anymore. However, the psychotic leader of their little group still remained standing. If anything, his eyes were gleaming with something that was like a mixture of insanity and a duty of some sort.

"We can't lose! I won't lose!" He repeated over and over again as he grabbed for his sword, despite his horrible looking wounds and burns. Asuma only stared while plans were forming in his head on how to deal with the man's persistence.

It was times like these that he didn't like to deal with civilians, especially those of not sane mind. He actually kinda hoped he wouldn't have to make them witness their first opponent's kill so early in their careers, but at least it would help them recover quicker by the time they made their first kill.

With a swift hand, Asuma grabbed a Kunai from his pouch on his leg and aimed carefully at the man's throat before releasing it in a strong throwing motion.

It took less than three seconds to plan, aim and cut down the remaining enemy. Chouji looked shocked and Shikamaru betrayed no emotion, at least to the best of his ability. Ino was looking troubled, but he got the feeling that she saw death happen before...

He would have to ask her about that later.

His current battle done, he looked toward Naruto's battle, which was escalating with each passing second.

**X-X**

Naruto was getting frustrated, as the leader was somehow parrying his strikes with unusual ease, all the while chanting and screeching at certain times to the doorway. He noticed that the door was becoming unstable with each chant and screech as it was trying to contain something that really shouldn't be let out of wherever the door lead.

Seeing this, he knew he had to step it up. Who knew what was behind that door...

"Alright, that's it! Kushina, lets go!" Naruto shouted an order to Kushina, who was also getting tired of the man's obsessive need to chant between strikes.

The leader only started to talk in a faster rate of words while finally trying to go on the offensive.

"Ugh!" Naruto grunted as he started to go on the defensive. The man's strikes were progressively getting faster and faster and Naruto was having a tough time trying to parry all of them.

However, with an application of chakra to his weapon, his sword gained its usual Axe edges and allowed Naruto to finally put his tactics to use.

Chouji, Shikamaru and Asuma were amazed that Naruto's weapon was actually a chakra weapon, while Ino smiled at the familiar sword and cheered on the mercenary. She knew that whenever she saw that sword, he was ready to kick some enemy butt!

"So your sword can use chakra...it still won't save you!" The leader spoke before reverting back to chanting, making the door almost groan in pressure trying to keep whatever that was.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not letting that thing get out here!" Naruto shouted, his Axe ready to strike the lunatic. However, before either Kushina or Naruto could act, the man grinned.

"Too late!" The man said before the door broke away into splinters.

From what Naruto saw, there was nothing but a black void inside the door and Naruto wondered what could trap something that could pound a door into splinters. Suddenly, a pink tendril of energy grabbed the man and dragged him in to the void. A squelching sound reverberated from the void and Naruto breathed slowly and carefully. He knew that some demons sensed by heartbeat, or even breathing patterns. No need getting flustered or showing fear to the new enemy inside the void, but it still was unknown to him.

It was hard to show a cool face, but Naruto supposed that it would get easier in time and experience at his job.

The being finally got tired of hiding in its prison and so with another set of tendrils, it climbed out of its hole and faced its opponent, Naruto. Naruto and Kushina only stared at the mass of...skin? Rubber? Looked around in distaste at the sort of prison it was sealed in.

"**Hohoho...We finally arise from our prison." **The being said, turning sideways and shocking Naruto and Kushina, who saw that the being itself had more than one face. In fact, it looked like someone stuffed a bunch of faces together in a rubber bag and pressed it so tightly, the bag carried their likeness down to the last wrinkle. It unnerved some of the other watchers, specifically Asuma, Shikamaru and Chouji that such a creature could even exist and wished for nothing more than to send that thing back through the doorway.

The creature spied its audience and found them amusing. The other time it was defeated (something it never forgave itself for), there were at least fifty thousand spear wielding weaklings out of the millions it had slaughtered.

Now they believe five people, four of them children, could ever hope to defeat him? It wanted to laugh in malicious humor.

However...the creature's thousand eyes focused on one particular couple and all of their faces snarled in rage. That garb...! That Demon! They defeated them and sealed them in that blasted dimension!

NOT THIS TIME!

Naruto only sensed pure hatred from this thing and he didn't like how all of those eyes just swiveled and stared at him...it was rather creepy.

"**YOU! How can it be? How is our warden still alive after all these centuries? Was I not in prison for a millennium? Must be a pitiful seal then...the surroundings haven't changed at all. No matter! We shall just begin our conquest anew, starting with you!" **The being roared after his declaration and began to expand like a balloon. It's tendrils also thickened and expanded to support its imposing figure, flailing about as if they had a mind of their own.

After the being finished, it nearly encompassed the barn interior and the flailing arms were destroying the platforms on the second floor of the barn. It then spoke in a deeper and much more menacing voice.

"**We are LEGION! We shall not stop until the world is ours!" **Legion shouted out, as if declaring a challenge to the world. Legion then turned all of their eyes on Naruto, who only held his sword in a ready stance.

"**Your blood shall be the first we taste in our destined quest. Die!" **Legion growled out as it shot its free arms at Naruto, who quickly leaped out of the way. Kushina didn't need an instruction as she took to what little sky she could claim and began to channel her energy for her first assault.

"Winds! Strike my foe, gather to me! Garula!" Kushina shouted as she manipulated the wind around her and blasted to Legion, where one of its many faces flinched at the cutting winds. Kushina once learned that the official chant was only used once to be able to be used repeatedly at will. The downside was that after its initial use, repeated uses using shorter chants made a spell's potency become lower than it would be if they completed the full chant.

She wasn't complaining however, power vs convenience arguments was best saved for quiet and peaceful times, not in the heat of battle.

Legion's faces were growling...it has been too long since they faced a pesky wind user. The power of the spells affected him in a way that told him that their defenses chafed at not being used in a long time and it required extensive conquests to return to their invincible state once again.

One of Legion's mighty arms raised at the pesky Angel and swung at her direction. However, the speed of the slow appendage made dodging the attack a piece of cake. The second arm strike wasn't what she was expecting and Kushina groaned when she recovered from a devastating strike that made her crash into a platform and dump several bales of hay on top of her. Before Legion struck again, Kushina took to the skies and started to form another plan in her head while dodging multiple strikes from Legion's many arms.

Naruto wasn't standing still either, he was able to inflict damage to many of Legion's clumsy arms and even cut off a limb from the tip that stopped flailing a few minutes ago. However, one destroyed limb wasn't enough to curb the rampage of Legion, who was getting faster in its strikes.

Everytime he dashed toward the main body, he had to pull back when a wall of its arms just suddenly blocked his way and a couple of them tried to grab him and throw him or even smash him into the ground. He had to find a way, but he doubted that an arm would just lay down for him to climb onto and allow him to strike at the body...

Wait a minute...the thing still thought it was his warden for that door? Maybe if he confused it with some simple bunshin...

Legion's eyes were clearly deceiving them, there was no way that there were more wardens to defeat? But...if he defeated his wardens...he would get back to full strength that much faster!

How wise was the thousand minds of Legion!

"Come on, big and stupid..." Naruto muttered as his clones were standing in different positions. He wasn't proud of his handiwork though. Most of his clones were fuzzy and out of color, but he banked on that demon's inability to tell them apart from him, so he waited until he got his chance.

…

..

.

**ROAR!**

'Now!' Naruto thought as he saw the flailing limbs strike at the transparent clones, not getting yet that they are false images. He attempted a final run toward the bottom limbs supporting the massive demon and once again ran aground of his earlier obstacle; the wall of limbs.

However, the distraction that he caused gave Asuma enough time to charge up his next move in his arsenal; a pair of trench knives on his knuckles was glowing with the same aura that Kushina uses in her wind spells. That alone let him cut through deep into the wall, allowing Naruto a point of entry to attack.

"Go, Naruto! I've got this!" Asuma shouted as he cut limbs off with somewhat relative ease. As he ran, Naruto figured that Asuma's experience as a Jounin let him react faster than say Chouji or Shikamaru. He was certainly better at handling unexpected situations, even if it was a towering mass of something like Legion.

'Alright...thanks Asuma-sensei.' Naruto thought as he dashed toward the defenseless legs (arms?) of Legion, who couldn't seem to levitate like its smaller variations could. The phrase "The bigger they are, The harder they fall." Gouto said during one of their combat lessons fit so well right now.

As Naruto stood under the behemoth, he was sure that it would be an easy job. Slice a bit there, slice over there a few feet and down comes big and stupid!

He didn't expect (although Gouto would say otherwise) another face at the very bottom. He did notice something was off with this particular face though...

It didn't look the same, as if tired or shriveled up than the youthful faces of the other selves of Legion. It seemed using all of its strength in keeping up the mass of demon with its own arms. When the face spotted Naruto, it almost sighed in despair...and relief?

"**So...you have come to the one face of Legion it refuses to see...the one of the tired..." **It rasped, seemingly independent of the other faces, who were almost shouting in unison.

"What? How? Why aren't you like the rest of your buddies out there?" Naruto pointed at the fanatic groups of faces on the other side of the ball of mass.

The elder face grimaced as it shifted the weight on its arms. He continued to speak.

"**I suppose you are too young to truly understand...but I shall try again, like I always do..." **It paused, as if talking to Naruto caused him great pain.

"**The story of Legion is both great and terrifying...it is our legends that show our kind how to dominate and rule over our lands!" **The face stated proudly. Naruto could see even if it was different, it still shared the pride the other faces took literally.

"So what happened?" Naruto asked, trying to find some information. Maybe this face might have some answers about what happened to the town.

The face held a solemn face, but answered anyway.

"**The conquests and battles we come victorious from serves as a source of strength to a single Legion for us to grow and prosper. When we fight and win long enough, we are able to absorb the defeated and gain their lives, their spirit for battle and add it to our own." **The old face of the Legion horde said, lost in his memories of conquests.

Then the face sighed.

"**Then we grew. We grew to the point where our Legion was legendary! Other hordes of Legion respected us and feared us as their one true leader, and as Legion...that was the mark of greatness...then we kept growing." **The Legion paused, as if trying to relive a memory it didn't want to.

"**Soon enough, our thirst for battle was unable to be sated. We started to pick battles with weaker Legions, absorbing them and making ourselves stronger. Then we couldn't handle the absorbed souls anymore."**

"**When we absorb a warrior's soul, they become us and we become them. However, it takes time to adjust them to our ways and us to their ideals. Usually we strip the idealistic and naive ideals of some of our conquests, but a single memory had stayed in...attached to my mind, and hidden from the others."**

"What was that memory?" Naruto asked, fascinated by the story. The elder face seemed surprised, but continued on.

"**It was...freedom."**

"Freedom?"

"**Yes...it was an ideal so new, and so terrifying! It allowed me to separate from the rest and allowed me to keep learning and then I saw how terrifying we had become."**

"What? What happened?"

The Elder Face frowned, as if feeling disgust or regret.

"**Legion decided we had to resurrect and stake our conquest once more. So our influence leaked out into the nearby lands and by chance we got a hold of some human farmer. We didn't realize that our seal had weakened and we thought that our time was near. After speaking through the hapless human, we gathered more and more and finally we had enough to begin breaking the seal." **The Elder said, as if speaking from an outsider's point of view. Naruto noticed how the arms were getting agitated, as if warning the face not to speak further.

Naruto readied his senses in case they should attack. The Elder noticed and grimaced in concentration, and soon enough, the arms settled down. Naruto sighed, but still kept his guard up just in case.

"**At least you are smarter in combat than you are in wisdom..." **The Elder chuckled at Naruto's indignation. Naruto frowned, what was it with old people telling him how stupid he was?

"How did you end up here? I doubt that this was the first choice in sealing you here." Naruto said to the face, wondering who or what sealed something of this magnitude in a flimsy barn.

The Elder went serious once more.

"**Our last conquest was our greatest mistake, we had assaulted a village protected by the Yatagarasu... Our power was great, but we were no match for its protector. A Devil Summoner and her partner demolished us and sealed us in this void...it fractured our beliefs and state of mind. Soon enough, we began to lose our rational mind and we became not LEGION, but a group of souls named Legion."**

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked. Before The Elder answered, a distorted hole appeared right next to its face. While Naruto was alarmed, The Face was not.

"**In order to defeat Legion...you must understand our glory. You must understand our greed, our anger and our sorrow. I am allowing you a glimpse into our greatest triumph and our greatest defeat..." **The Elder sighed as he forced his limb to act as a sort of stepladder.

"**Enter, descendant...Find how our world began...and end it." **The Elder said before a huge rumble was felt by Naruto.

The Elder chuckled.

"**It seems Legion is about to fully break out...I suggest you move on." **The Elder said to the boy in front of it. Naruto hesitated...but had to find out what caused all of this. From his research on demons, Legion was always united in mind...so what caused this particular face to rebel and even offer a glimpse into their twisted world?

Naruto could not miss this...who knows? It might even become a neat conversation starter down the road.

Climbing on the offered limb, he was suddenly grabbed around the waist and launched into the hole. As he screamed in shock and at the velocity he was launched at, the hole started to close in on itself. When it fully closed after Naruto entered, The Elder sighed and murmured to himself. His final words were not of sorrow and regret, however, but optimism and hope.

"**End our suffering, descendant...our time is over..."**

**X-X-X_X-X-X-X_X-X-X-X_X**

**aaand...that's it for this chapter!**

**I was watching the new Persona 4 Animation and that lead to me playing Persona 4 again and I found this demon while browsing the Compendium for an opener during a boss fight. It wasn't particularly useful, but I liked its defenses...**

**Moving on...**

**As I'm sure you all know, we finally had a review talking about the Jammin' Ninja and its not good.**

**I would like to say that the term Jammin' Ninja! Is not made up, at least by me. It is actually a sort-of Easter Egg and I was kinda hoping someone would get it, but it was either not too important to notice or if you did, you nodded and went on your way.**

**For those who don't know where it came from, it came from another game series. Its actually quite humorous and a key piece in the chapter where the game uses it.**

**So, homework time (for a nod in the next chapter heading)!**

**Find out where it came from, and I'll put your name on top of the A/N on the next chapter. Review or PM and I'll add all of the users who got it right.**

**ON another note...**

**As I read back on my earlier chapters, I think I might have to go back and tweak the presentation of the chapter. I'm not going to add any major future new content, just some minor fixes and minor stuff like awareness or better execution of certain parts of the chapter.**

**Hope you'll see the differences, and you'll know as I'll stamp a bold current date on the revised chapter.**

**On a final note, I've had people tell me that I should put a disclaimer to separate my work from Kishimoto's Work...I would like to point out that signing up for FFN requires you to acknowledge that all your work posted here is automatically disclaimed if you try to profit from it.**

**So in other words: Why put it when its already done for you?**

**Alright, that is it for now!**

**Terra Ace**

**Total Words (excluding Author's notes): 10223 (Huge!)**

**FutureStamp ©: A little fix here and there, so enjoy!**


	17. Mission One: The Past of Dreamers

**Terra Ace Proudly Presents:**

**Devil Summoner Naruto: Chapter 17**

**The Past of Dreamers**

**X-X**

The experience wasn't anything like Naruto had ever felt or seen as he was free falling through total darkness. He wasn't sure where he was going, only knowing that the darkness was both inside him and yet guiding him from the outside. His whole body, his whole mind was feeling...wrong, but felt like countless years of lost knowledge was just washing through his mind and grazing it, tempting him with unattainable knowledge.

Strangely, Naruto also felt that countless years of _Physical _knowledge were grazing over his body. He swore that there were many scars of battle imprinting on his arms, on his legs, and on his chest. It felt like if billions of battles were being experienced at once and he was only feeling the most critical parts like extreme pain or even extreme joy at the mere brush of the memories hitting his body.

Just as he was starting to indulge himself on this darkness, he collided with something solid. No longer feeling the...what could he call it? The rush he decided. No longer feeling the rush of the past, Naruto found that he had hit the floor.

The floor of what? He wasn't too sure he wanted to find out.

Trying to gaze his surroundings was a no go. The place was filled with a completely dark fog that blocked any attempt to see more than three feet in either direction. Naruto wasn't happy, he didn't like to feel like a fool with no map, and that is exactly what he was feeling like, a fool.

Breathing slowly, he felt nothing in the breath of air that felt poisonous to him, so he took another, and another until his sense of direction was fixed north. Or at least, what felt like north to him.

He started walking, unsure of whether his path would damn him or give him more information.

**X-X**

He was walking for what felt like eternity.

He wasn't feeling any more of the rushing feeling of past battles. He felt nothing, only silence permeated his senses. This trip through the emptiness of Legion was beginning to tax his senses, as he was sure that you couldn't feel silence.

'One more step...' his thoughts repeated throughout his mind, forcing his feet to move step by step through the darkness. Naruto only prayed that his mindless wandering didn't result in the deaths of his friends outside, who were trying valiantly to fend off the rampage of Legion in the tiny barnyard battlefield.

Almost as if his prayers were answered, a bright shining light seeped into the suppressive darkness that covered Naruto. The light disturbed him though, as if it wasn't normal, artificial it felt to him.

He was right.

The light sensed him somehow and grabbed him by the waist and dragged him into the center of said light.

That was when Naruto knew nothing more.

For a small while anyways.

**X-X**

On the outside of the behemoth, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and their leader, Asuma, were assessing the situation as best as they could. Well as much as they could while dodging a hail of meaty arms and blasts of energy from the monster's mouth.

"What is this thing's weakness? Hell, what is it?" Shikamaru exclaimed, letting his squadmates know that he was, in fact, capable of losing his cool. His intellectual prowess still remained functional though, as his eyes were already zipping around his field of vision, scanning for some sort of weakness he missed during his first scan of the behemoth.

Ino also wondered, but not what it was, for she could always ask Naruto for that information later. She did see something that Shikamaru would be willing to trade his entire arsenal of weapons for.

A weakness.

She noticed that Kushina would always charge up her devastating wind spells before diving at the mess of flesh and pulling up at the last second. A moment later and a blast of green energy imploded at the target area where Kushina dropped her spell. Finding the flying girl an awesome friend and indispensable example in how to defeat the monster, Ino worded it in a way in order to make the weakness known, but not Kushina as the reason.

"Asuma-sensei! What is that green glow on your fists?" Ino asked of the teacher, seeing the same shade of wind power on the teacher's fist.

"These are my chakra based weapons, a set of blades that fit into my knuckles. They use my element, wind, to attack." Asuma explained to his students, finding a strange lull in the behemoth's attacks to explain.

"I tried to use to a wind jutsu just now, and it reacted weirdly to it. That thing tried to stop me from completing it, as if it looked afraid of it." Ino lied, covering her "findings" courtesy of Kushina.

Asuma looked at both his weapons and Ino in astonishment, while Shikamaru looked envious at Ino's discovery. Chouji smiled at the girl, feeling pride in her discovery.

"Right. Now that we have the monster's weakness, here is what we'll do..." Asuma began, retreating to a hidden area from the battlefield.

It was a well hidden area, since not a single one of the thousand faces that adorned every part of the boastful Legion could spot it nor them.

A few minutes later, Legion felt a terrible spike of pain from the back of their body. It felt...horrible, as if someone hurt it with the most powerful of Megido...but worse.

Legion decided as one, to fear the ninja and their skill at hiding, for it was dangerous and only served them as long as they were part of their glorious being, or as part of forgotten history.

Almost as one, Legion halted its frantic searching.

Wasn't there another one?

**X-X**

The light wasn't as bad as it felt, Naruto thought as he regained consciousness and into a world that wasn't filled with pure darkness. He looked around and found that world of darkness was actually a barnyard sized dome of darkness and he was probably wandering in circles inside the dome for a good while.

He felt silly now that he thought about it.

Naruto shook his head, there wasn't time!

A voice in his head asked a different question though.

"_Why? What isn't there time for?"_ A voice, as if melding with a thousand voices all at once, asked. Naruto gasped as his brain actually felt the voice imprinting its words into his mind.

"Who's there?" Naruto asked out into the open, looking for a weapon to try to defend himself with. He felt unnerved that neither his sword nor his sidearm was present on his body. He was completely defenseless, as he wasn't even able to feel the emergency kunai pack he stored on his upper left leg.

"_Do not worry, visitor, for you are safe." _The voice said again to his mind. Naruto didn't like it one bit.

The voice continued.

"_You do not have weapons because of one reason. You are not their rightful owner as of now."_ The voice said, shocking Naruto.

"What?" He exclaimed his shock and anger. He was defenseless because someone else held his weapons?

He seethed. He never met someone who would take someone's property, especially from someone who was still alive!

"_Calm yourself, visitor, you do not own them for you do not exist now. They belong to one from your line, a hero who defeated us..."_ The voice said, betraying no emotion, only stating fact. Naruto's eyes widened at the last part.

"Us? Who are you really? Legion? Show yourself!" He shouted at the sky, no longer tolerating the invasion of his mind.

"Very well." A deep voice sounded right next to him, forcing Naruto to pivot around and gape at the owner of the voice.

An older man stood in front of him, dressed in what looked like the norm for his time. A white robe with a leather belt around his waist held an impressive sword made of bronze. He had bronze armor aligning his chest and what looked like shoulder pads melted into the armor itself covered his shoulders.

His frail looking body was the contrast to the tough armor he was wearing. Yet, he had a grace to him and unusual strength that was holding up the heavy armor.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. The older man looked thoughtfully at the question.

"I don't know...after so long, I could only think of myself as Legion. You may call me as such, for I do not remember my individual name." The old man, Legion, said to the boy.

"Are you...that face? The one who was at the bottom?" Naruto asked of the old man.

He nodded.

"Yes, or at least, his most visual memory of himself. As a result of allowing me to accompany you, his baser instincts took over and he is now another face in the rage of Legion." Legion answered, not understanding the grimace that the boy in front of him showed.

Naruto shook his head slowly, hoping that Ino and Team Ten wasn't hurt, or worse, dead.

"So what's next? Do we find this "hero" ?" Naruto asked. Legion nodded, and started walking in a random direction.

Naruto shook his head, and followed the aging Legion.

**X-X**

After what seemed like hours, Naruto watched as Legion stopped in front of a large hill a few feet away. Naruto felt that the hill just suddenly materialized in front of them, as he swore they were walking on an infinite expanse of rolling plains.

"We are here, our first step." Legion said simply, Naruto wondered where the emotion went, as he thought that this persona of Legion was simply bare, almost stone-faced.

"You mean...?" Naruto trailed off, letting Legion confirm that they were at the part of where this "hero" defeated them.

"Yes, let us walk up this hill, then you will begin to understand." Legion walked upwards toward the peak of the hill as he said this. Naruto nodded and followed the old man, who was outpacing him despite all that armor that should have weighed him down.

When Naruto arrived, he swore he was looking at Hingaku, but the town wasn't as big as this. Nor was it filled with retreating civilians, or did it have warriors run toward a massive figure in the distance.

"This was the town of what you called "Hingaku", although it was a different time and the town was differently named." Legion began as they saw the figure move closer to the town, while the scattered warriors looked at the massive figure with trepidation. Naruto was about to go help them, but was gripped by Legion as he tried to step forward.

"There is no need for you to interfere. You would not change the outcome either way." Legion said as a warning to Naruto. Naruto glared at the emotionless figure, but he was unfazed at the disgruntled agreement from Naruto.

"The town was much like the ruins you saw, a farming community. They tried so hard to survive, only to meet the fate of other towns before them. Or so we thought." Legion said, almost thoughtfully. Naruto watched as the first few brave men were caught in Legion's mighty grip and were finished in gruesome ways.

One was merely squeezed to death before being flung at rapid velocity toward a building. It spoke of Legion's power, as a huge dust cloud generated from the sheer force of the flung body hitting a nearby home and Naruto actually saw the house buckle before collapsing on itself.

Naruto almost looked away as the second one in Legion's grip was slammed with such force that nothing remained except for a red mist.

By this time, the remaining men retreated back into the town, finding open combat to be suicide. Naruto and Legion watched as the lumbering figure slowly followed them, destroying any buildings in its way with it giant mass.

"Why are you showing me this? This doesn't say anything of your fall!" Naruto shouted at the image of Legion's miniscule humanity. Legion shook his head, as if watching a foolish child throw a tantrum.

"Keep watching." Legion said to the boy, who calmed down. Naruto promised himself to meditate more...or find new avenues in relieving his anger.

They saw Legion stop at what looked like the second line of defense for the town. Naruto watched in awe as massive objects were being set up on the roofs of some of the larger buildings. It looked like something out of the wildest imaginations of children, but Naruto believed it was a time of lost technology that would never be recreated again.

The past Legion paused at the sight of the weapons and gazed guardedly at the unexpected weapons of these puny weaklings.

Naruto was shocked when the massive weapons suddenly screeched a loud screaming pitch. He watched as several egg-shaped projectiles with fire coming out of its end skyrocketed toward the creature. Legion howled in agony as the projectiles connected and exploded in massive fireballs. The warriors cheered as the creature was pushed back and quickly scrambled to reload the stationary weapons.

It went on for a few more times as Legion was being pushed back with these incredible weapons of destruction. For every volley of weapon fire from the stationary weapon bases, the massive Legion was pushed back what looked like ten to twenty feet. Naruto cheered as the creature was actually pushed back to the city limits.

Legion wasn't amused and roared in an act of rebellion of some sorts, as if declaring the complete obliteration of these annoying flies!

Naruto's glee turned to horror as with the declaration of rebellion, Legion gained a burst of speed and started to flail his arms in a rampage toward the buildings holding the projectile shooting weapon bases. Panicked shouts were heard as Legion's attacks connected with the base of the buildings, shaking them. Naruto watched as several men leaped out of the buildings from as high as the second floor window, with varying ranges of injury. Some not so lucky victims were launched out of the third or forth floor windows to land painfully and twitch before dying.

Soon after, the buildings collapsed, taking the weapons and what is left of the weapon teams on the tops of the buildings. Naruto gazed once more as the remnants of the warriors ran back to another defensive line, but Naruto didn't see anything as impressive as those projectile weapon bases.

"What were those things?" Naruto asked Legion.

"Those were some of the surprising weapons of the Old World. I don't remember what those stationary things were, but I faintly remember that they called those flying things "missiles"." Legion answered, and Naruto filed away that mysterious name for those frightening, but exhilarating objects that screamed through the sky.

"Come, we must go closer." Legion beckoned, walking away from the hill toward another viewpoint a few yards away.

Naruto followed the spirit Legion, enthralled about the downfall of the supposed giant.

**X-X**

He had yet to see this hero from his past.

From what he had watched and heard in Legion's memory, the hero who had defeated him didn't arrive until the last minute, about the same time where Legion declared victory over the fallen warriors.

Was it case of revenge?

Was it an attempt at a Pyrrhic victory?

Naruto didn't know.

Watching the third line of defense fall had been devastating. There were untold civilian deaths when this particular line fell. Some civilians died either believing that the monster wouldn't rampage this far and got complacent or were genuinely believing that their protectors wouldn't let it get this far.

They paid for it with their lives.

Naruto grimaced as he saw the rampaging demon actually laugh after crushing the third line. It was creepy, having one thousand voices of different pitches laugh as one. The demon went off to chase what was left of the defensive line, which numbered to at least twenty. Which was somber, since they started out with seventy strong in the first line. Strategically, it was more of a loss than a new avenue, since the lack of manpower would limit their choice in weaponry, but would also allow for distractions from nearby soldiers while others either escaped or attacked from a separate direction.

From the desperation in the air and on their faces, it was the former rather than the latter.

Naruto no longer watched from a hillside either. Legion had decided to simply walk through the battlefield, as if doing a crisp walk in the morning. While Naruto gaped at the audacity of Legion's earlier warnings to not being able to disturb the memory, he privately wanted to also experience the memory first hand.

He wasn't sure if it was such a good idea.

There is always a small part in the hearts of humans that compel them to save someone if they can, to only feel the rush of danger like a fool, or to preserve life because it is sacred, regardless of the person's attitude or beliefs.

Naruto felt that magnify a hundred fold, watching innocent children die like that. Children, who would have lived full lives were snuffed out like ants from Legion's strikes, either to them directly (which was harsh on Naruto's psyche) or from causing yet another building to collapse on them, their cries silenced from the noise.

Naruto prayed that his supposed hero predecessor would show up. He wouldn't know what would happen if he lost his mind in a memory of all things. If only he had his weaponry, he might have acted on his base fantasy that he would at least do a difference.

His logical side knew better though.

His presence would do nothing, because he wasn't there.

Walking through the oddly stone-gray buildings and cracked pavement, he wandered into what looked like a small hub of surviving civilization.

There were a few doors still on their hinges, lovingly maintained throughout the hub. There were a few lights on the upper floors, indicating someone was living there. On the ground floor, there were drawings by children, so it was safe to assume that some of the lights housed children.

Almost as he thought it, Naruto saw a figure exit one of the doors.

It was a slender looking man, but he couldn't tell for sure because of the heavy looking cloak on his body.

His hair was short and somewhat loose, as if normally cradling his face, but was cut off haphazardly. He didn't seem to own any weapons, which was odd in itself.

Naruto didn't know what to make of him.

He was sure that the man had heard all those explosions and would at least have evacuated to a safer area. But this man felt calm and almost...dazed?

Suddenly, the young man ran past him, toward the rampaging demon crushing the city. Naruto almost ran after him if not for another sound taking his attention away from the running man.

When he turned around, he saw Legion, almost looking whimsical.

"I'm starting to remember how I failed, if you must know." He said, giving out an almost bemused expression. Naruto stared at him, unsure if this representation of Legion actually showing emotion was good or bad.

"Is he responsible?" Naruto asked, wondering if he was the past hero.

"No, if anything, he was my most loyal follower." Legion replied, starting to smile, as if laughing at the stupidity of humans.

"What?" Naruto was horrified and shocked that someone would actually cheer on the destruction of the demon destroying his town.

It was insanity!

"He was a most foolish boy, I know. That boy was named Shigeru, and was one of those who you fought before my liberation in your time. He was a member of the Gaian Cult, and one of the more...enthusiastic ones."

Naruto's eyes widened, but kept silent.

"This member was neither a leader or an inspiration in the cult, he was simply a fanatic. He was one of those who came en mass to the cult, enthralled by the ideas of the Gaian philosophy. It is these members that provided the muscle for the cult, and more often than not, would die first fully believing that they died for a noble purpose." Legion paused, looking into the distance where Legion was still raging.

" Why is he important then? If he was just a lowly fanatic, why should he even matter?" Naruto asked of the spirit. Legion, in turn, only grinned, as if expecting the question.

"Why? Because of her." Legion said and pointed toward the door. Naruto looked past Legion and saw that indeed, there was a young girl.

This young girl looked to be around Naruto's height, and had a lithe body, much like the young man from before. Her hair was somewhat longer than Shigeru, but still had a hint of the straw hair that Shigeru sported.

The young girl's face was set in grim determination as she was equipped in all black and had even a hat that complimented the uniform. Naruto was surprised that the outfit mirrored his own, without the cape and instead a hat in place of his own black bandanna.

A small part of Naruto wondered if he would look better in a hat, instead of a bandanna?

What really drove the point home was that the girl had his weapons, a long sword and his gun. He noted that instead of a revolver like his own, the young girl had a slimmer pistol and looked easier to handle.

"This young girl is your ancestor, and she is going to kill her brother to save this town." Legion said idly, as if expecting the outcome, but no longer surprised that he was bested by a young girl.

"She was part of the remnants of your order, and decided to come clean to her brother, who she trusted above all else. Her brother, already tainted with Gaia, was pleased that he had a Devil Summoner sibling, and took advantage of that." Naruto shook his head, saddened that a brother would do that to family.

"As you saw, he took her cloak, and took a summoner's device. He was hoping to try and contract and bind me to himself, mostly, I believe to have power in the cult. As you can see, he failed." Legion said pleased, as if he found hope in the girl.

They both watched as the girl nodded and ran after her brother, toward the direction of the rampaging Legion. Seeing nothing else of interest, Naruto followed the girl, leaving behind Legion, who didn't move from his spot.

**X-X**

Naruto followed the girl at a brisk pace while trying to ignore the remains of fallen warriors strewn around in the streets. He noticed that the warriors were uniformed almost exactly the same, and they had different versions of the pistols that both he and the girl carried. One even had a large version of the pistol, but was much larger and had a drastically different design. He corrected himself, that not all things that looked like pistols and revolvers, were actually pistols and revolvers. They might have had different names, or even different uses.

After finally arriving at a large open space, far from the wrecked city, the girl stopped and saw Naruto saw that the brother, Shigeru, was raising a tube much like Kushina's summoner tube toward Legion, who was staring at the tube with deep fascination.

What Naruto didn't get is how Legion arrived so far from the city, but figured that Shigeru must have baited it away from the city. If anything, Shigeru saved what was left of the city, although with impure reasons.

"Legion! I name you as my demon! In the name of Shigeru, member of the Gaian Monastery, I bind you to myself!" Shigeru pressed the button that would normally grant entrance to a willing demon. In Shigeru's case, the tube that normally let a demon in easily was used to try and force a contract with an unwilling demon and had an unexpected consequence.

Legion wasn't impressed with the puny human trying to lord over him with a flimsy piece of junk in his hand. He had no master!

Legion raised a meaty limb, and raised it to a still expectant Shigeru. When he brought it down, the tube turned a bloody red as it started to absorb Legion's attacking limb. Legion's one thousand faces grew angry as it tried to pull out of the vice grip of the unusually strong vortex.

Shigeru grinned maniacally, he was about to get his deserved respect! He had Legion, the strongest demon in the land! HE HAD LEGION, AND HE, SHIGERU, WAS-!

Shigeru looked slowly to his chest, where he found the edge of a blade sticking through his chest cavity, right in the middle of where his lungs would be. He looked back to see his sister, looking shocked that she actually did the deed. She had a glint though, as if her deed was necessary, but it was mixed with a sadness that he didn't see in a very long time.

"...thank you, imouto." Shigeru said as his knees finally buckled and he dropped to the floor, his strength leaving him to his fate.

The young girl shook as her hands left her blade and she dropped to the ground, knees supporting her body as started sobbing. All the while, Legion was losing his battle to the summoner's tube's grip. He howled as the last of its will left him and his body was dragged into the tube, unsure of who was its master.

The girl, who still had tears, stared angrily at the tube, which was slowly pulsating. With an angered growl, she took her sidearm and fired at it point blank with everything her pistol contained. Naruto wondered whether she had hints of chakra as the bullets went from a dull metal to a glowing green as she kept shouting words at the tube and firing non-stop at the tube.

The tube itself was remarkable as it didn't look at all damaged. There were slight burns, but were superficial at best. It didn't matter to the girl, as she still kept firing at the tube.

Finally, after screaming herself hoarse, she stopped and stared at the tube. The tube was still glowing, waiting for her to take it. Naruto saw a lot of conflicting emotions on the girl as both anger and sadness were prevailing above her other emotions. A third emotion in her eyes were shining above her anger and sadness, and it was the glint of determination, of duty.

She took the tube and placed it on her brother's body and dragged his body into the center of the open field, where she pulled out her blade out of her brother's body. Naruto watched as she turned her brother's body around, wincing as the wound was surrounded by slightly caked blood. With another sad look at her fallen brother, she clasped her hands together and began saying a prayer, or so Naruto thought.

As if reacting to her words, a glowing pattern surrounded the body of Shigeru and the summoner's tube as it started growing on its own and expanded to cover the entire field. Naruto watched as the girl chanted repeatedly and without hesitation.

Just at it bordered on overlapping the buildings, the pattern array closed in on itself and created a block of pink energy that surrounded the center of the array. All the while, the girl still had her eyes closed and was still chanting.

After a glaring flash, which Naruto covered his eyes with his arm, the girl stopped chanting and watched as the result of her spell stood stock still in the middle of the large field. Naruto watched as a large wooden door of all things was standing without a supporting structure in the middle of a large grassy field.

That was when Legion decided to reappear to Naruto's side.

"That is how we fell, ironic isn't it?" Legion asked, watching the girl stay stock still at the door's appearance.

"What was? That I had to see my ancestor kill her brother?" Naruto shot back, feeling an array of emotions. He could feel the extreme sadness that the girl felt somehow, but didn't know how it was possible.

Legion shook his head, not surprised that the visitor didn't get the irony.

"Instead of having an epic battle of strength, she decided to go for the core of the problem. Her brother was her hardest obstacle and she had no choice but to kill him." Legion explained calmly.

"She didn't have a choice? What do you mean? She always had a choice!" Naruto said, wondering where these negative emotions were coming from. His logical side said that it was the right choice, but his emotional side was going haywire.

"I see...these aren't your emotions, but that of your ancestor. Interesting..." Legion mused, as he watched Naruto struggle to keep his emotions in check.

"What happens now?" Naruto asked as he watched the girl leave and head back into the ruined city.

"Now? Now we battle." Legion said as he unsheathed his weapon for the first time since meeting the spirit. Naruto, who was weaponless, was backed into a corner. How could he fight without any weapons?

He watched Legion raise his sword into the sky and a bolt of purple lightning crash down and settle into the metal of the blade. A few more lightning crashes into the blade and Naruto felt the ground shake, and knew something was wrong.

Legion pointed the supercharged blade at him. What the boy didn't know was that he had no intention of letting him know that he made his job easier.

"In order to finish me, you must learn to fight, and to expect everything, even if you are disadvantaged. Now come!" Legion said as he began his attack. Naruto rolled to the side as Legion's first attack was a vertical swipe, intent on cleaving him into two.

Naruto growled, but he had to admit, Legion had a point. He wouldn't always have a weapon ready to combat threats and this was one of those times. Now he had to rely only on himself for this battle, and he was not going to die, especially in Legion's memory!

"Alright...let's go!" Naruto shouted as he ran toward the waiting Legion, intent on finishing this.

**X-X**

Team Ten watched with rapt attention as Legion suddenly looked sluggish, as if all energy just suddenly disappeared, leaving Legion helpless. Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji and Asuma was waiting if Legion was suddenly playing dead to lure them in.

Not wanting to risk his students lives, Asuma gathered enough chakra energy to produce a single Shadow Clone, an advanced move that drained a user's energy by half per clone. With a nod, the clone ran surveillance to the seemingly weak Legion.

When the clone got close, one of Legion's faces saw the clone and tried to use one of its many limbs to swipe at it, only to fail miserably at it. The clone smirked at the weak attempt and waved to his creator, who jumped down after watching the weak attack.

While Asuma wasn't fully convinced, he was sure that the monster was weak enough that he could begin making some small observations, foremost as to what Legion was made of. That particular detail always bothered him since he began combat, when he threw multiple Kunai and they just bounced off.

It made him think that Legion was a rubber ball or something.

While Asuma was musing, Ino was worried, along with Kushina. Naruto was at the bottom of that thing, and it just fell.

Her mind was working furiously with worry and anger. What if Naruto was crushed by that thing?

When she gazed at Kushina, she was sure that Kushina was thinking the same thing. When Kushina flew off to observe, Ino wanted to follow, but couldn't. While she was worried about him, Naruto was also more robust and wouldn't die so easily. She also knew that Naruto was a ninja in all but name, and ninja always obeyed their leaders. If her sensei told her to stay put, that she will follow it to the letter.

She only prayed that Naruto was alright...

**X-X**

Naruto was slowly, but surely getting a read on Legion's attack pattern as he kept dodging his attacks. For all of his years of combat, Legion didn't differ from the most basic swings of the sword.

One slash vertically downwards.

Two slashes to the left and right.

Finally, one stab to the midsection.

If Naruto could pause to think, he would've thought that Legion was waiting to die by his hand...

Was that it? Was he waiting to die by Naruto's hand?

How was he going to do it, was the next question in Naruto's thought process.

If only he had a sword!

Looking for anything, even a rock to launch a distraction was vital to Naruto's survival. When he gazed backwards for anything, he was surprised that the door had more things added to it since he last gazed on it.

There was a single bouquet of flowers by the base of the doorway and a sword that looked like the young girl's own sword was laid in front of it, next to a headstone. The door looked weathered, but still strong. The grave itself, looked new and freshly dug.

When he gazed at the headstone, he didn't find a first name, but he did find a last name along with an all too familiar title.

Here Rests

Summoner Amagi

Guardian of Legion

Naruto wondered where the grave went in his time, but didn't think of how it mattered. Someone could have found the grave or maybe didn't find it and time weathered away the gravestone to the winds. As for the door, it didn't seem to attract any attention to the town's citizens and Naruto deduced that the door was invisible to the normal humans.

Finding no other alternative, Naruto moved closer to the rested sword and paused before nodding to himself. If there was no other way, then he hoped that he had the blessing of its previous owner.

Offering a quick prayer and an apology, Naruto gripped Summoner Amagi's sword and mentally thanked her for a way to combat his own fight against Legion.

While he ran from the grave, he didn't notice the young girl in her complete uniform garb look to Naruto's direction and nodded before disappearing back into her grave. Her small smile as she disappeared told her all she needed to know about the boy.

**X-X**

Naruto was surprised to find that his old weaponry was restored, along with his revolver and Kunai pack on his leg. He didn't stop to think about it, as he rushed toward a waiting Legion. It wasn't as if he suddenly believed that every past owner was fighting with him, but he felt that this was both his and Summoner Amagi's fight, and he was fine with that. A small part of him even felt that this was also Shigeru's fight, however detached and twisted it was.

Legion was waiting for him and he was glad that he was now armed as an equal. Now was the time for his Legion to move on, and back into the darkness of history. It was time to sleep, at last.

When Naruto jumped at him, sword ready to cleave him in two, Legion raised his blade, ready to see if he was truly the one to end him.

**X-X**

Asuma and Team Ten ran back to their observation zone as Legion started to spasm, as if in extreme pain. Finding no true danger aside from flailing limbs (which were shrinking with every wild swing), Team Ten watched as Legion shrunk with each spasm, as if losing its source of power.

It was certainly educational, if anything.

Now Ino was worried and at the same time, relieved. She was worried because she didn't know if Naruto was dead, and relieved that she didn't find his crushed body anywhere.

So...

Where was Naruto?

**X-X**

Naruto almost felt a sense of pity as Legion stood there bleeding like a waterfall. His limbs weren't badly mangled, but his chest was gushing blood from normally negligible wounds. Naruto was sure that he didn't even make a deep cut, since his blade was parried with awesome speeds. What hits he did manage to make was often dodged, or at best grazed his body or arms. Which is why it shocked Naruto that there was so much exaggerated blood from his wounds.

Suddenly, as if someone put a cork, Legion stopped bleeding. He then collapsed, making for a very cheap victory in Naruto's view.

"Why? Was this some sort of suicide?" Naruto asked of the dying Legion.

Legion smiled. For all the pain he was experiencing, he was still smiling.

"I am only one of a thousand faces of Legion, our strength lies within our number. Didn't you notice how my blade, my armor eroded with each strike? Look around you!" Legion coughed as he watched Naruto turn around.

What was once a clear blue sky was now dark and the city that was saved was now in ruins, it looked a lot like the dark worlds of his time. Did Naruto actually travel through time while he was battling Legion?

No...that wasn't it.

This was a memory, a dream of events past.

The dark sky here meant...near death? The ruined city...his will was crushed?

So if he was to leave...

Naruto closed his eyes, it wasn't right, to kill an old man. Even if it was Legion, it didn't feel right to down a suicidal demon.

So, with those thoughts, Naruto raised his blade, pointing it to the old man's throat.

The old man closed his eyes, finally...

Naruto thrust his blade through and sighed. His answer was in his action.

Legion opened his eyes, it wasn't dead?

Turning his face, he saw the blade stuck to the side of him, well away from his damaged body. Turning to him, he was about to ask why but before he could, the boy answered him.

"You are Legion, you did terrible things, but dying won't atone for your crimes. There was a reason Summoner Amagi didn't just toss you down a drain somewhere, because even if you were a demon, you didn't cause her brother's death. At the very end, she decided to seal you away because you were destroying her city, not because she blamed you for his death."

Naruto pointed toward the still strong door and Legion saw a fresh bouquet of flowers, despite what the state of the surrounding area. Legion realized that it wasn't a fresh bouquet, but the lasting memory that he, as an individual, realized.

Thanks to absorbing Shigeru, he was born. Thanks to Shigeru's memories, he found the power to question everything, beginning with Legion's motives and zealous demeanor. While he didn't know the girl firsthand, Shigeru's memories were enough to tell that she was a shy girl, but very determined when she had to. She was also somewhat of a brat, but she held no grudges and forgave very quickly. She was very optimistic, but like a mirror, she could get very pessimistic as well.

Watching the boy, he saw both the girl's brat attitude and her optimism magnified and thought that he was an ideal descendant of the one who sealed him. He was unique as well. For all his hotheadedness and bravado, he had a critical eye for information. This allowed him to do the right thing and explain his answer instead of taking the easy way out and killing him like he wanted to.

He also convinced him, a being that just wanted to end himself, to find another path instead of a shameful suicide. He couldn't be there, but he would be there another way.

"Come closer, Summoner..." Legion gasped out, his ragged breathing already showing signs of his end.

Naruto cautiously stepped over, wondering if he would be here forever and watching a dying Legion for eternity?

"You have...found your answer...how surprising that I would be moved by it. I, who wanted to take Legion back into hell with me, but instead found inspiration. Take my hand, summoner, I'll take us back..." He held out his hand, which Naruto took.

A brief glare of light blinded Naruto before feeling lightheaded and he whited out.

**X-X**

Finding himself back into the barn house, Naruto was greeted by surprised shouts from Team Ten and a flying tackle from Kushina, who was worried about his disappearance. Turning to the weak mass that was Legion, he saw a familiar face, which was odd, since all of Legion's faces were the same to the untrained eye.

"Thank you summoner, our power will not go to waste after all." The tired face said in gratitude before closing his eyes. As if getting an invisible command, all faces of Legion closed their eyes in a restful motion, and relaxed before light emitted from all faces.

As if one, all lights gathered to the top of the barn and slowly fell to ground before stopping at Naruto's hand. Reaching out, Naruto found something small and metal like at the center of his hand. Kushina leaned over and saw a pin of some sort. It was plain, but it told of great power from the look of it.

It also had words from an ancient language. Naruto squinted to see the words, but couldn't make head or tails from it.

_Din Legiunea, pentru Legiune._

Weird, but it had meaning, and it came from Legion. Pocketing the pin, Naruto watched as Team Ten ran to his side, amazed by the light show and in the case of Ino and Kushina, Naruto's well being.

Naruto himself thought back into the glimpse of the past, wondering how wonderful the Old World was, and how terrible a fate it faced, even with the efforts of his ancestor. What would have brought despair to anyone else, Naruto found hope that even amongst the betrayals, the desperation, there was still someone brave enough to do what was right for their survival, their world.

The pin in his pocket was proof enough.

Smiling, Naruto was about to tell everyone that it was fine until something not fine happened.

It wasn't everyday that a sack of demonic flesh spontaneously caught fire, after all.

"Run!" Naruto shouted as the fire almost instantly engulfed the bales of hay strewn around by Legion's earlier attack. Team Ten didn't need any more instruction as they carried both the survivor and several unconscious fanatics out of the burning building.

Watching the barn burn down, and with that, any evidence of their fantastic supernatural mission, Naruto and Team Ten were walking back to Konoha with the survivor. The fanatics, who had woken without any memory of their deeds, went back to their ruined town, determined to salvage what they could and start anew.

The girl, no longer under the influence of a sleep tag, explained that she was part of the orphanage in this town, having lost her parents to the demon fox, Kyuubi's attack a decade ago. When Asuma promised that he knew a couple who were looking for a child to take in, she jumped at the idea and agreed to travel back with them.

So, there they were, trying to to decide what to put into their debriefing report, with Asuma explaining the basics of reporting back to the Hokage Tower. He did so since neither Naruto, nor the students in Team Ten had any experience doing such things. The girl watched fascinated as she got a crash course in Ninja Bureaucracy.

Naruto is certain of one thing, however.

The Hokage will have more reports like this in the days to come.

Naruto shook his head...hopefully, he wouldn't find another Devil Summoner during his time with the hat...he hoped.

**X-X**

**Here we go! Another Chapter Done!**

**YAY!**

**I had such Writer's Block, as I didn't want to just spew out random crap for the readers of my perception of the Naruto world.**

**As such, I have a good deal to comment on what is happening in the fanfic world.**

**Well, how about these...what do they call them? Covers? Well, to be honest, it feels like it could use more work. Since having as a default, your bio page's pictures (or lack thereof) is confusing sometimes. I would know, since sometimes I browse through the HP section sometimes...oy vey.**

**I like to point out that while I never wrote an M-rated adventure, I feel that I do agree with the Site Moderators. Some of the content is basically Porn _With_ Plot, so it does have cause for either deletion, or at the very least, stricter filtering.**

**As you know, FF's moderators, and their TOS does state that they do ban Sexually Explicit or Extreme Violence. Now while they are lax in their enforcement of such a policy, it is within their right.**

**To be honest, all of us were abusing their lack of enforcement, either reading pretty much unregulated porn or disturbing fics about either suicide or things like bestiality or glorifying cutting and abusive relationships.**

**Now, a lot of us are pretty much breaking TOS by putting a ridiculous protest "chapter" and risking their account and their hard work to be literally flushed down the digital toilet.**

**Here is a small thought...**

**How about...oh I don't know...put your grievances in your author page? Right next to the oh so common "post this guilt message on your own author page or feel like douchebag (which you shouldn't be feeling)".**

**Not only will you protect yourself legal deletion, or severe warnings. You'll be able to air out your feelings on the matter.**

**Well, not like you'll do what I suggest, since 98% of us are jumping on the bandwagon and hoping that somehow your tactic of mass "chapter" protest while putting your name along the people who have done the same thing you have and hope that the moderators will cave into your demands.**

**Remember, these are the same people who have access to the server you are freely accessing to archive your ideas, demanding what they should do with their website. Just some food for thought.**

**Alright, time for some accolades (if you are reading past my observations, then please read, and either ignore my words, give a self-induced speech in place of a chapter review, or preach to me that what you are doing is a defense of a free speech and that I should also protest something that should be regulated still, but regulated to include sexually and/or violently graphic scenes as the norm.**

**The ones who have recognized that indeed, the Jammin' Ninja! Is part of the Ace Attorney are these fine readers:**

**Blood Wizard**

**Mecha-Kraken**

**Thanks to those who have reviewed my stories up to now, and I hope you continue reading my stories until the day I die or leave in absolute shame (whichever comes first).**

**Until the next chapter!**

**Terra Ace**

**Words this chapter (like always, without the bold words at the end of the chapter): 7288 words.**


	18. A Cry For Freedom!

Devil Summoner Naruto

**I would like to introduce a new type of page break. This is used for flashbacks, and pretty much nothing else.**

_X-X0_

**Nothing too change worthy, but it'll do.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 18

A Cry For Freedom!

**X-X**

When he got the mission, he was expecting some downtime after the major mission, like how some of the ninjas get after a field mission. He didn't expect to get another mission right off the bat, without any rest.

His rush to resupply was frantic and tiring, something he was hoping to avoid.

Naruto, who was at last finished with his restocking to launch into the field immediately, looked over the folder holding his latest assignment.

_X-X0_

"_Welcome back, Team Ten and Naruto." The Hokage greeted as he saw the returning teams and newest mercenary. Though tired, the group of ninjas stood at attention towards their leader, a formality earned by the aged leader._

"_I have reviewed your report sent ahead of time, Asuma. I assume that Hingaku is lost?" The Hokage asked of Team Ten's squad leader._

_Asuma nodded, adding nothing that wasn't already in his report._

"_I see...and I assume that the girl with you is...?" The Hokage trailed off, gazing at the small girl accompanying his ninjas._

_Asuma nodded again._

"_I believe we need to ask her a few questions, and then we can let her go. Asuma, you may join her after your team duties are over." The Hokage debriefed them, already knowing the details._

"_Dismissed." He only said to the weary team._

_X-X0_

Reading through the files, he recalled the way he was called. From what he overheard as a child, only really important people were called back the way he was called back.

_X-X0_

_While Naruto was all for relaxing the day away and reporting back to his teacher, Gouto. He had to think on how was he going to explain his spoils of sorts._

_Namely, this pin he got from Legion, the demon responsible for burning down Hingaku._

_Was this safe for use? Was it a trap?_

_Making his way to the compound, he was intercepted by a strange individual appearing before him. On a closer look, Naruto recognized the figure as one of the many secretive agents known as the ANBU._

"_You have been summoned, Mercenary. Report to the Hokage at once." The agent said before vanishing from sight, an impressive feat, considering he didn't use a smoke bomb or other tools meant for distraction._

_Wondering what the urgency was about, Naruto went back to the Hokage Tower. One did not keep the powerful leader of his village waiting after all._

_X-X0_

So there he was, reading over a confidential file meant only for his eyes. According to the private meeting with the Hokage (the information gathered in the file garnered top secrecy), he was to ship out immediately to a place called The Land of Waves.

He wasn't there to investigate a supernatural incident, but rather do a sabotage mission.

_X-X0_

"_Thank you for coming so urgently, Naruto." The Hokage said as he gestured for the boy to take a seat in his office._

_Naruto nodded and sat down, quietly admiring the place that was going to be his someday._

"_We have had some disturbing reports coming from our informants in the Land of Waves, more specifically, the largest landmass closest to our borders." He paused to light his pipe, something he usually did for pleasure, now to calm his nerves._

"_Reports? What kind of reports?" Naruto asked, wondering what was his part in this meeting._

_The Hokage glanced at him, as if judging his integrity to keep the source of secrets. From his shake, Naruto figured he wasn't trustworthy to keep it._

_While it stung, he wasn't confident either that he would keep it either._

"_Our agents in the field have reported a major shift in power, and some of our import prices have increased as a result." The Hokage continued and handed Naruto a small folder containing a few sheets of paper._

"_As you are both a mercenary and a ninja under my command, I found it fit to hand you this mission. You are going to this place and gather any new information from our agents. You are not cleared to meet with these informants and will instead recover this information from the drop points in that folder."_

"_Destroy that folder before departing, and ready yourself to depart tomorrow morning." The Hokage said before nodding his dismissal, which Naruto took and left without a word._

_X-X0_

Finding himself as a spy of sorts wasn't what he was expecting as a mercenary. However, reading through the folder told him that the place was becoming a haven for mercenaries looking for cheap work and great pay.

So send in a mercenary of their own, Naruto.

The folder's mission instructed him to enter this mercenary hive and recover the information by Konoha's informants.

Strangely, there was no other information. There was only small things such as drop off point locations, but no such info on anything about the local powers, such as a ruling Daimyo.

Maybe he wasn't cleared to know?

Or maybe there wasn't any power?

He shook his head, if it wasn't important enough to be on print, it probably wasn't important enough to know.

He glanced at his clock, and decided it was time to rest. He had a mission to do, and going in tired wasn't smart.

**X-X**

The next morning found Naruto double-checking his supplies at the gates of Konoha, looking for any misplaced items and checking his gear on his person. He was about to complete his check when he felt his fingers brush over the pin from his last mission.

Crap, he forgot all about it. He was supposed to give the pin to Gouto-sensei!

Well, he will have to apologize later, his mission was waiting and he wasn't being paid to wait around wondering when he will catch hell for pissing off a cat!

Calling Kushina to his side, the pair took off toward the Land of Waves, barely passing a man who smelled heavily of alcohol and a hint of desperation.

**X-X**

The man gazed at the young mercenary who ran past him and grumbled that he missed out on hiring this perfectly able mercenary to help him on his plight. His optimism dwindled slightly as he watched the professional disappear on the horizon.

What better way to overthrow Gatō's half-cocked mercenaries than with a true mercenary, hired by Konoha? Now granted, just only him wouldn't be enough, but him and the ninja forces he was about to hire would be more than enough!

Now if only he could hire a super ninja force with what little money he had...hopefully the rumors that the Hokage was soft on poor cases were true...

**X-X**

Three days into the road found Naruto talking with Kushina about anything and everything. While Kushina enjoyed bonding with her partner more and more on the road, Naruto found himself asking questions that they both knew the answer to, all to alleviate the boredom that set in on the road.

Being a mercenary was tough since there was no other human soul to talk to, and Kushina was there from the get go, so he couldn't ask anything new about her...well except...

"Hey Kushina?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember anything else from your past?" He asked hesitantly, knowing that he was on unfamiliar grounds.

It was sort of an unspoken rule between Kushina and Naruto that he wouldn't try and pry in her lost past. It was mostly for Kushina's benefit, since she didn't remember much from her living days. Trying to make her remember was like expecting a heads on every coin flip, not going to happen everytime.

"Hm..." Kushina tried to recall all of her recovered memories, which was starting to trickle in whenever she slept or trained very hard during spars with Naruto.

"There is something that kept nagging at me for a while now." Kushina answered slowly, as if remembering it like it was yesterday.

"Really?" Naruto asked, interested in this new development. Maybe he could learn something new and look it up in the hall of records of Konoha's Library.

"I had a son, and he was the cutest baby I've ever seen." Kushina giggled as she revealed her recovered memory.

"You were a mother?" Naruto asked.

She nodded.

"I think I was older, and I think I was a ninja, since I remember that headband so much." She said while pointing at Naruto's headband.

"I was gazing at my baby and I felt so weak...it might've been the time I died and became an angel. I am so grateful and so dismayed by that memory..." Kushina said sadly.

Naruto didn't say anything, entranced by the new information Kushina gave him.

"I mean...did I just give birth and then died? I remember wanting to have a child so badly, and I go and die right after?! I mean...I can't even remember my baby's face clearly! Was I crying? Did I know I was going to die?" Kushina said bitterly, as if blaming herself for not being strong enough.

"Do you remember anything else?" Naruto asked, trying to steer Kushina from her depressed state into another state, preferably her happy one.

"I think I remember two other people. One...was pure evil, and the other...was very warm. He could've been family or my husband." Kushina answered, and then fell into a silent state. Naruto took it as her refusal to talk about it anymore.

A while after the silence, nightfall came and Naruto set up camp for the night.

**X-X**

Two more days on the road found Naruto on the border of the Land of Waves and where Naruto was to begin his investigations.

The obvious choice was to sign into a local inn or mercenary compound. Mercenary compounds were often a bit away from towns, due to them attracting some not so image friendly faces. It was a source of information for freelance and seasoned mercenaries.

Naruto entered the small location and found himself the center of attention from every patron in that compound.

"Well now...another sword for hire? Been getting a lot of them lately..." A voice said at the bar in front of Naruto. Naruto guessed that he was the owner of the compound...or perhaps the barman?

"Yeah...heard there was a lot of money to made here." Naruto said out loud. This earned a loud of laughs, guffaws and even a few chuckles.

"Is that so? Well, unless you are a total greenhorn, everyone you see here is looking for their next meal. What makes you think you can get their slice of the pie?" The barman asked, before gazing around the ground floor. The mercenaries around him were also gazing at the boy with questionable looks, some of them were also gazing him with anger, as if contemplating killing the boy to eliminate any more sharing of the prize.

"Who cares?" A voice cut into the silence. The group turned to see a figure slouched into the bar, a half drunk glass of liquor by his side.

"If he wants to try and get into this business, let him. After all, this is the boy that sent all those fliers everywhere!" the man chuckled in his deep voice before grabbing the glass and emptying the contents in a gulp.

A round of laughter eased the tensions of the small mercenary compound as they took another good look at the boy. Some remarked that the boy was foolish for exposing his identity so early in his career, while others said that having an exposed face would land him jobs easier. The same group who praised his bold move also commented that it would make him an easier target for the "bandits" on the road.

"Now I remember...I nearly forgot about the brat and his fliers!" The barman chuckled and pulled out a worn flier with Naruto's writing on it. Now that Naruto saw it, he was embarrassed about the childish handwriting and cartoon-like drawings on the edges of the fliers.

"Well, now that we have our young mercenary out in these neck of the woods, we might as well tell you now." The barman said, putting away the flier.

"Tell me what?" Naruto asked.

"Your deal with that caravan merchant has been acquired by the Mercenary Union." The barman said to the boy.

"How?" Naruto asked the barman.

"The caravan leader was desperate for money, since his caravan was hit by bandits and he found himself out of money and out of luck. He went to a nearby compound and sold his contract to the union, making your deal with him, ours." The barman, who Naruto guessed also posed as Guild Leader of this area, paused to take a drink.

"That means for the ten missions you do for the guild, we'll take a ten percent cut. If you don't do any work for us, we'll come take it from you by force." The Barman/Guild Leader threatened. Naruto narrowed his eyes but had to nod. He would do these missions for the guild and do them quickly, as he didn't want to spend any more time than necessary around these people.

"So, have any work?" Naruto asked.

The guild leader chuckled.

"That's what you're here for, aren't you?" the leader said and pulled out a leather book from behind the bar and placed it on top of the table bar.

"Don't feel so bad there, son. Just because we take a bigger cut, doesn't mean you won't get more than enough of the pie to eat!" The leader guffawed before looking at the book.

"Well, since you already heard, the CEO of Gato Industries is always looking for more swords for his security forces...although I hear from some quitters say that say the pay is shit." The leader said to him, to which a few chuckles sounded from across the bar.

"What else you got?" Naruto asked him, to which some voices started to growl.

"Unless you are heartless like Kakuzu, I don't think you have it in you to do any bounty missions. You probably haven't ever killed before, I bet." The leader said to him, gauging Naruto critically.

"I...killed before." Naruto said softly, while the Guild Leader heard it like he shouted to the bar itself.

"Did you now?" The figure to the right said to Naruto and got up from his stool. The figure stood in front of Naruto and gazed into his eyes. Naruto, who stared right back at him. After a small while, the figure looked away.

"You killed alright...you haven't got over it, though. You don't have it in you to do bounty missions...you are too human." The figure said and sauntered back into his barstool, where he got another drink.

"There you have it, boy. No bounty missions for you, spoken by the head hunter himself, Kakuzu." The leader said and gazed at the book some more.

"Here we go...its an old one, but its still good." The leader said as he started reading aloud.

"This is from a small town on the border, the people have asked for one of our mercenaries to protect the town from..." The leader trailed off and stared at the request.

"What is it?" One of the mercenaries in the background asked.

"Well...the town is asking the mercenary to go against all of Gato Industries!" The leader asked, amazed at the request.

"Like anyone would do that! Its easy money for anyone wanting to act like a mercenary to work for Gato!" One of the younger mercenaries laughed, while his buddies clinked their glasses in approval.

"I'll do it!" Naruto's voice surprised even himself. A quiet murmur echoed throughout the compound.

Who was this upstart, willing to trash a sure source of income?

"Are you sure? Gato Industries is your opponent, the pay is terrible, and you'll make your name in this business...and probably not in a good way." the leader warned. Naruto stood quiet for less than a minute before nodding.

The Guild Leader sighed before stamping in the approval on the request and handing the ticket to Naruto.

"Here is the request, boy...you must be crazy...are you sure you aren't a samurai?" He asked the crazy boy.

"Nah...just some mercenary, trying to look for some work." Naruto said before putting the ticket in his pocket and exiting the compound.

"Hm..." Kakuzu stared after the boy before shrugging and taking another drink.

Yet another upstart...

**X-X**

Naruto was outside, wondering what the hell happened.

He was supposed to blend in, work for the enemy!

How the hell did he get roped into toppling a criminal empire?!

Naruto groaned, but he wasn't able to back out now. Not only would it hurt his business credibility, but it would make settling in the mercenary faction that much harder.

On top of that, they were docking 10% off the entire job!

Although...Naruto paused to think.

If he did do this job...than his fame would be better and he'll get better jobs!

With that in mind, he cheered up.

…

Now where was this village?

**X-X**

A few days later...

**X-X**

"Finally!" A battered looking Naruto said after arriving at...a ghost town.

Kushina, not affected by earthly things like dust and the floor, stood as immaculate as ever.

Naruto glared at her, to which she stuck her tongue out.

Glancing around, Naruto tried to find a inn or at least something alive in this town. After not seeing a soul, Naruto wondered if he really did find an abandoned town until a rustling sounded to his left. Looking to his left, Naruto grazed his sheathed blade for any threat until something came out...or at least someone.

A boy.

His eyes glared at Naruto, as if blaming him for everything bad that has happened to his life. He did take a glance at the headband Naruto was wearing and he ran off, his eyes shining with shock.

Naruto shook his head, nothing more can be gleaned from just standing there.

With a gaze to Kushina, Naruto ventured forth into the not-so-ghostlike town.

**X-X**

Turns out, that this town was his target area, as noted on the mission slip.

However, his initial guess of it being a ghost town wasn't too far off.

And as he found out, it wasn't just a lack of resources that made the people abandon the town, it was fear.

Speaking to whatever brave locals that still lived there, this town was lively, and its resources plentiful. That is until an "Emissary" of Gato Corp set up in the mayor's house, driving the local government representative out into the wilderness, never to return.

The town was instantly issued "Identification permits", a worthless piece of paper with misspelled names and hefty issue fines. The locals who refused to pay initially were "fined" by the way of broken property and ruined stores for some owners. It grew steadily from there.

Soon enough, the enslaved populace began disappearing, the local "government" expressing confusion at the disappearances.

A superstitious people, the populace began fearing a demon borne from rage and the death of their people has arisen and began harvesting what's left of their people. The sad part was that this was spoken with reverence and awe, as if they were hopeful that they were targeted next.

Staying at what could be the last inn open in this town, Naruto began reviewing what he learned.

Gato Corporation was expanding rapidly.

Gato or perhaps his head personnel employee has established what looked like the main central facility for housing Gato's security forces. For a shady conglomerate, Gato tried his best to at least "look" oppressive, having the bare minimum of security on the outer grounds.

Gato's forces could rapidly deploy via the riverbank heading north. Turns out, the main facility was used to provide reinforcements when needed, making for a very effective method of intimidation and crowd control. They even commandeered a ferry to load as many as possible to deploy.

If Naruto could squint enough, he could make out an outline of an almost completed bridge. During the night of course with the help of Kushina carrying him far into the sky.

After reviewing what he learned, Naruto's mission was clear. However, it would be on the part of the people, not his pay.

First of all, he had to infiltrate the thug's barracks. And to do that...

Naruto began planning into the night...

**X-X**

"Another one eh?" The surly man at the gates asked Naruto the next evening, who didn't look at all like he looked like the night before.

Ditching his cloak and uniform, he was able to "borrow" some clothes that made him look like one of them, a lowlife scumbag looking for a quick buck.

"It won't be easy, you'll be doing some of our employer's...delicate needs. You of course will stay quiet and accept your pay with a smile." The man stated to Naruto, who nodded with the most evil smile he could muster.

It was difficult keeping up appearances, but it satisfied the man.

"You seem eager! Very well, your bunker will be over there, near the servants quarter." He points to the farthest house and it looked like it was the least maintained, but still a palace compared to the servant quarters.

"You will receive your orders soon, so set up and get ready to move out tomorrow." The man said before leaving, shouting to another set of hoodlums who were acting out of line.

Walking to his quarters, Naruto felt someone's glare on him and he gazed to the source.

It was that same kid, although his glare seemed to be amplified with his presence in the barracks.

Naruto walked to the kid, hoping to find out why he was glaring, but as soon as he made a movement in his direction, the kid scampered off.

Naruto shook his head, he had to get set up and hopefully have Kushina grab his sword from the room at the inn. He didn't want to cause too much of a ruckus having a well maintained sword compared to the other "mercenaries'" crude weaponry.

Settling in for the night, Naruto gazed at the stars, watching for any sign that Kushina was nearby with his gear.

**X-X**

The next few weeks were a test to his resolve and mentality for Naruto. He knew it was to keep up appearances, but sometimes it was rough on his will.

The first few days were a training session every one there had to attend. It was mostly a bastardized style of academy move-sets taught to the students their second year. After that, it was an hour of learning how to intimidate, to get what you wanted from the populace.

It was brutal, but Naruto found that he could use some of these tactics on other demons...which was a bit horrifying to him.

The next of days were truly trying to him. He had to "impress" upon the people of his authority, which was making an example of an interloper caught near the barracks.

It was an older man with a look of resignation on him, as if accepting his fate.

It looked like the others had their fun before their "official" time with him.

Fortunately, the man seemed to gaze at him before fainting on him, as if tired from the beatings.

He was lucky that the teacher gave him extra points, saying that his stare was enough to break the already broken man's spirit.

Naturally, the other members of the class weren't happy to see this preferable treatment. A glare from the teacher was enough to keep them in line though.

Naruto still slept with an eye open, in case some of them didn't get the message.

**X-X**

A couple of days later, Naruto noted that the classes only took a week and then they were deployed into the town.

Naruto's assignment was to look over the town's marketplace and "collect" the tribute in way of coin or produce, preferably coin.

Naruto grimaced, but found that the marketplace was near to his room, and with his gear. Kushina was in their room, guarding over the equipment and making sure nothing came into the room.

Now that he had a good feel for the barracks and their docks, he could begin his sabotage of the place. He was glad that he was able to buy explosive tags without restrictions and bought a bunch of them before leaving town. The ninja armorer who sold them to him was skeptical at selling him so many, but the bill was paid and he was all too glad to take it for the tags.

Making a quick detour while ignoring the fearful glances of the frightened people, he recovered a certain piece of his gear and made his way to the barracks.

The townspeople were confused, but were heartened to see the gleaming headband proudly displaying the major village's insignia. Seems that the boy's words were true after all, a major village was here to free them...at least that's what they hoped.

**X-X**

After stashing his headband away, Naruto was musing on how it was too easy in getting into the compound again, as he began setting tags all over the place.

The common thugs were all too happy to steer clear of the area after Naruto told them a quick lie that the tags were to purify the compound of ghosts and demons. Naruto, who was not that superstitious anymore (ghosts still frightened him a bit, though.), only chuckled as he put tags everywhere where "ghosts" resided at.

Never mind that these tags were put in critical places such as support beams and doorways.

Getting into the dock was a bit harder, since only authorized members were allowed. He had no choice but to sneak by, which was really hard now since he was sure that the grunts were aware of his presence and his tags to ward off evil excuse wouldn't fly with the sailors.

A hushed voice however took his attention away from the boat and to a corner of a building to his right.

A waving hand was moving up and down in his direction and telling him to come this way.

When Naruto came close to the waving direction, he was grabbed by three other pairs of arms and dragged off, away from the pier.

Naruto's vision was no help, since a sack of some sort was put over his head. The sack smelled funny too...

Naruto blacked out.

**X-X**

When Naruto awoke, he was surrounded by people with varying states of clothes. Upon closer inspection, one of those people was that kid he saw on his first day in this village. After a bit of staring, and older man approached him and spoke.

"You are the one putting the tags all around the barracks, correct?" He asked. Naruto only nodded and kept silent, not wanting to say something without meaning to.

"Then you should know that while the mercenaries here are less than intelligent, we are not that ignorant." The man paused before leveling his gaze at Naruto, who couldn't look at away.

"You mean to destroy this place, in hopes of destabilizing Gato's grip on this town." He finished.

Naruto only nodded.

At the nod, the people were getting hopeful, while others were quietly cheering.

"Does that mean that the guild finally sent someone to do the job?!" Someone exclaimed. The others shushed him, not wanting to make so much noise.

"Where am I?" Naruto finally spoke, the people, who were cheerful, grew silent.

"You are in the servants quarters, next to your room in the bunkers. You were out for a few hours as well, it seems that the homemade drowsing remedy we made was too strong for a child as yourself." He glanced at the people behind him, who were a bit sheepish.

"So, what happened to the tags?" He asked, finding himself able to stand up a bit...or so he thought as he fell back to the floor.

"Careful there, the remedy also acts as a mild paralysis poison, but without the right ingredients, the paralysis will disappear in a few minutes." The older man said with a hint of a smile, as if he was used to smile a lot before...well this situation.

Naruto nodded, his feeling in the legs already reappearing.

"As to the tags, we were able to deliver them to the ship in a packet of food crates. We do not know how to activate them, so we put it near the engine room next to papers that the mercenaries burn away for fuel...at least that is what they say they burn them for."

"That should be fine, they explode when they burn up or feel enough heat." Naruto said, remembering a class on basic explosives at the Academy with Iruka-sensei at the helm.

"Wonderful, now that we have a friendly mood going on, we also have something to tell you." The older man said gently, his eyes brighter with hope.

"Yeah? What is it?" Naruto asked. The older man nodded and two others stepped in front of Naruto and helped him up.

"We used to be the Daimiyo's chosen to rule over the Land of Waves. As such, sometimes we are summoned to the main island to have to listen to Gato gloat over how he has "righted" the island and how we were unfit to rule in the Daimiyo's name."

"Now that the guild has finally sent someone so eager to put a damper in Gato's plan, we are overjoyed to help out in anyway we can. As such, one of the rants we put up with a week ago might be of use to you." The older man said with a smile.

"Really?" Naruto was interested.

"Yes! We overheard that a ninja group was escorting a very ambitious bridge builder back to the main island, and that they were ready to deploy the barrack's entire garrison to crush these ninja forces. We were worried that they may face some severe resistance...well until you came."

"Wow! That is some news! Did they say anything else?" Naruto eagerly asked, wondering if they knew any more names.

The old man's gaze grew worrisome.

"Unfortunately yes, we also hear whispers among the mercenaries that Gato got desperate and hired a ninja of his own to defeat these escorting ninja. The only reason we told you this is that the escorting ninja had the same headband as yours."

"Headband? Wait..." Naruto trailed off.

The old man looked apologetic.

"No, don't worry! We didn't take anything, we just had them transferred to your quarters from the room at the inn."

Oh, well that was a relief!

"Ah yes, we found something else in your room after we transferred your things to your quarters. It was odd, it just looked like one of your tags, but it had different writing on it." The old man said to Naruto, who wondered what it was.

"Well, we won't keep you here any longer, or else the quartermaster might come looking for his missing man." The old man nodded and the two that helped him up to his feet exited the quarters as if to clear the way for him.

After a series of knocks, the old man nodded to Naruto and bid him farewell.

"Goodbye, young man, hopefully you'll be able to aid in freeing our lands." The old man nodded and closed the door to the quarters. Naruto could hear a series of locks and sounds of boards being put in place.

"Oy!" A voice sounded behind him. Naruto turned and found that he was discovered by the surly man, the quartermaster.

"Where were you?! You missed the roll call and meeting!" The man asked angrily. Naruto had to make up a lie on the spot, something which he was good at.

"I just had to find more of my spell tags! I was running out and I got the idea to have some of the help make the tags!" He hoped it was enough to convince him.

The man grimaced, as if validating the claim.

"...alright, I was wondering why I got the call from the captain to ship a number of spell tags to the mainland...we'll have them tomorrow right?" He asked of Naruto, who nodded.

"Good, I'll overlook your absence this time, now get back to your quarters, we'll need to move out early tomorrow morning." The quartermaster master said and started to walk off.

"Can I ask why?" Naruto said after the man, who stopped.

"Well, we heard that the ninja that the boss hired was starting to fail him and we are called to step in and take care of the problem. Looks like that ninja wasn't as professional as he claimed!" The man laughed out loud.

"Really? Who was he?" Naruto asked, curious as ever.

"The one the boss hired? He called himself Zabuza Momochi, a missing ninja from one of those ninja villages. Last I heard, he was defeated by some other ninja doing escort detail to some bridge builder." The man shrugged and walked off.

Naruto stood pensive and went back to his room, he had a lot of things to write down and think about.

**X-X**

A sounding alarm rang throughout the barracks as Naruto woke to a pounding at the door. Opening it, Naruto was greeted with another mercenary at his door, already armed with his crude sword.

"You, get ready! We're deploying immediately!" The mercenary said, dashing off to pound another mercenary to action.

Naruto's eyes widened.

Were they already fighting at the main island?!

**X-XXXX**

**Well, this was something that was hard to write. I already had the mission set up in my mind, but writing an intro to it was harder than I thought. I hope its enough to satisfy any readers still holding out for an update!**

**I just want to wish everyone happy holidays and hope I'm still alive after Dec. 21!**

**Really, the Mayans spelled our doom...yeah right.**

**Laters!**

**Terra Ace**

**Words: 5701**


	19. Summoner's Crossroad

Devil Summoner Naruto 19

By Terra Ace

Chapter 19: Summoner's Crossroad

Naruto could not believe it, he was being deployed against two high powered enemies, and one of those enemies happened to be Zabuza Momochi, a missing ninja in the employ of Gato. He was currently on the ferry that was transporting what was probably the entire garrison to the bridge that the battle was supposed to take place.

According to the orders barked by the Quartermaster, they were to assist Zabuza Momochi in driving back the rebels on the main island and secure the place for Gato's interests to develop safely. The rumors from some of the other mercenaries told a different story.

Pillage.

Raid.

Annihilate.

They were really supposed to bathe the bridge in blood, either from the mercenaries or the ninjas. Preferably the blood of the ninjas, but either would do in the eyes of the higher ups.

Damn it.

The ferry was also loaded with some of the most potent explosives in the engine room. That also worried Naruto as it could blow when the right amount of heat was applied, or if either one of them touched fire or was around enough chakra...

If the tags sensed enough chakra, they would prematurely ignite, and probably take the entire boat with it.

He would preferably be off by then.

A shout was heard from above the helm of the ferry, they were nearing the bridge.

Naruto and several other mercenaries gazed out and were astonished at what they saw.

The entire bridge was covered in a surrounding fog!

Naruto could hear a faint sound of steel and occasionally a flare of ninjutsu techniques flashed in the fog. That was both exciting and unnerving to Naruto and the mercenaries.

"Alright, we've landed, report to your positions!" A voice barked from above, probably the ferry captain.

A sound of shuffling and murmurs sounded the immediate area as they disembarked.

**X-X**

Naruto stood silent as the mercenaries stood in a loose formation as they stood behind their leader. The leader was waiting for something, and it looked like whatever they were waiting for has arrived.

A limo arrived in front of them and stopped right in front of the mercenary leader. As the driver walked over to open the back door, most mercenaries had to stifle their gasps at who came out of the limo.

It was Gato, the owner and CEO of Gato Corporation.

Naruto was surprised. Was Gato here to lead the charge?

"Everyone is here at your order, sir!" The leader said with a hint of professionalism...laced with greed at the payout he was going to receive.

Gato nodded.

"Excellent."

Gato turned to the assembled mercenaries.

"You are here to eliminate Zabuza Momochi, he has demanded pay higher than his worth, and for what? Mediocre results! I will not stand for that!" Gato smirked, his mustache grinning upwards when he did so.

"Eliminate him, and any ninja you see there! After that, we will make an example of that bridge builder and his upstart rebellion!"

The crowd of mercenaries cheered, even the leader smiled at the order.

"Assemble! We march now!" The leader said and made his way to the embattled bridge.

"For the first who brings me Zabuza's head, I'll triple your pay!" Gato called after the mercenaries. The morale spiked after hearing that bonus objective given.

Naruto, who marched with the mercenaries, had to remain calm. Maybe he could give a warning to either ninja who would listen?

**X-X**

At the bridge...

**X-X**

The platoon of mercenaries arrived at the opposite side of the near completed bridge, just on the other side was the village where the bridge builder was holding a reported rebellion.

Naruto knew that it was a lie.

"Form up! We will move on my command!" The leader shouted at the formed mercenaries.

Naruto waited, nervous.

Other mercenaries however, were really psyched up. No wonder, since there was a huge bounty at stake.

Naruto wondered if there will be "accidents" in claiming the head of Zabuza...if they can even take it from him.

"Alright, move out!" The leader commanded and as one, the group of mercenaries moved into the fog, eager for battle.

It would be the last thing they would do, at least for most of them.

**X-X**

In the fog was like a whole different world. You could not see a single thing beyond your arm's length, and even then it was a stretch to see that far.

As the group of mercenaries stepped into the fog filled battlefield, Naruto and the others could hear faint sounds of metal meeting metal. For being a ninja, the fact that only metal clashes could be heard was a sign of years upon years of silent combat being practiced.

The only sound Naruto could hear was the footsteps of the mercenaries, loud and untrained as they were expected of in a mercenary.

"What is that?" One of the mercenaries asked, pointing at the sky.

Naruto gazed up and had to stifle a gasp.

The thick steel pillar that held up a section of the bridge was cleaved clean in two. The only thing that was supporting them was the wires on each side, and they looked worn from battle.

Naruto paused as another strike of steel sounded, much closer than before. A few of the mercenaries readied their weapons in anticipation of their target appearing.

But no one came...was it an illusion? Naruto wondered, but...

A whip like snap sounded and Naruto's eyes widened as the cables snapped at last. The clash of steel happened right above them and it cut their only means of support to stay standing on the bridge.

A rumbling and sounds of metal groaning from the bridge sounded as the path became unstable from the battle. Sudden as the groaning happened, the path started to uplift.

The bridge wasn't supporting the pavement anymore and the path was collapsing from the weight.

"Run!" Another mercenary shouted and began scaling the uplifting pavement. Naruto didn't waste any time and began scaling the wall. A few tense moments and several falling mercenaries later, Naruto jumped across to a more stable section of the bridge.

Naruto was the only one who made it through, as the path suddenly uplifted sharply and collapsed into the river, taking the entire battalion of mercenaries with it.

Gazing over the ruined edge of the bridge, Naruto could make out only a few of the mercenaries that entered with him above water...it looked like the rest were crushed by the falling pavement into the river below.

Naruto shook his head and looked away.

"Oy!" A voiced shouted from the other side of the edge of the ruined bridge. Naruto looked and saw their quartermaster waving at him.

"We can't send anyone else after you! You go on ahead, we'll make a plank to reinforce you soon!" The man said before leaving. Naruto noted that Gato was nowhere in sight and probably went back to his company.

Naruto sighed, he was all alone and he had to face whatever was in here.

Maybe he could link up with the ninja escorts here and maybe figure out a plan.

Maybe.

**X-X**

Walking through the fog wasn't too bad, since Naruto found out a neat little trick, courtesy of Kushina.

When he summoned her, Naruto found that the fog widened considerably away from her and by proxy, him.

It looked like her presence here was a repellant to the fog.

Kushina chalked it up to her bright personality.

Having a larger vision radius helped out greatly as Naruto could see the damage the battle in the fog inflicted.

There was a large amount of deep gashes on the ground around them, as if a large sword was dragged through the pavement.

The machines and tools used to build the bridge were completely destroyed, no longer useable.

Oddly enough, there was no presence of humans on the bridge at all. Although Naruto could point out that the bridge was all but completed and didn't require that many people on the bridge.

Still...that was odd.

When Naruto walked just a few more feet, Naruto was treated to a unique sight.

A giant dome of ice was surrounding the length of the bridge.

With no way to get around it, Naruto stepped a bit closer to the dome. Perhaps this was just a wall that the ninja, Zabuza constructed?

Stepping closer to the dome, Naruto signaled Kushina to back him up as he tried to find a way past this...perhaps he could be lif-

A whistling sound pierced the air as a needle of some sort was aimed at them, intent on piercing him...or was it to drive him back?

Naruto didn't have time to think on that further as more needles was aimed at him, causing Naruto to jump back further away from the dome.

What the hell was going on?

Naruto frowned, nothing was stopping him from going through to the other side and these needles were no exception!

He gazed at where the needle landed and frowned...there was no needle. There was only a puddle of water instead.

Naruto gazed at the puddle where the needle was. Was the needle made of ice or something?

Before he could think on the situation any further, something sinister started enveloping the dome itself.

It felt...unnatural.

Naruto gripped his blade, ready to turn it into its second form at any moment...what the hell was that energy?!

Before he could even react, Naruto felt arms grip him and take him into the sky. He looked up at Kushina, who was frantically trying to fly him as high as possible. Before he could ask why the urgency, the dome imploded with dark energy.

The entire bridge lurched at the implosion, but it didn't seem to affect the structure's integrity.

Kushina, who felt the energy fade, flew over to the other side of the bridge and landed him a distance away from blast site.

When Naruto landed, he was greeted from behind by a very familiar voice.

"Naruto?!"

**X-X**

**A few moments back...**

**X-X**

Nothing was going right...she could tell that something was horribly wrong from the beginning of this accursed mission!

First the ambush of the Demon Brothers...some no-name ninjas from the mysterious Mist Village.

Then their boss showed...with a very pretty assistant.

After that...she didn't want to remember how their teacher looked like.

It would've been fine if she wasn't saddled with looking over their teacher while trying to find a way not to murder one of the most useless teammates in Konoha's history.

At least Sasuke was doing something!

Sakura sighed, she knew that something felt off about her team, back when they were assigned to Kakashi Hatake.

From day one, it seemed that Kakashi was looking for a certain person, but closed up when he found out that the certain person wasn't in their team.

Then he assigned this bell test...and they somehow passed.

No thanks to their third teammate. He actually had the gall to rat out their location to their sensei – their mock enemy!

If it wasn't for Sasuke feeding his traitor mouth to shut him up, Sakura was sure she would've been sent to the academy!

Then the first missions happened. It was bearable at first, until their teammate got the idea to test out their academy jutsu on the job...well it wasn't a good result, she could tell that much.

Sakura did notice something though. If she wasn't deluding herself, she could've sworn that he was acting a lot like how Naruto used to act when they were in the academy together, way before all this demon business.

Sakura's senses flared as she saw something approaching her at high speeds. It was black and dark in nature.

Sakura put her hands in a guarding motion when a burst of energy spread outward. It washed over her, but it felt...wrong.

So imagine her surprise when Naruto dropped in near her all of a sudden with a small thud of his boots hitting the pavement.

"Naruto?!"

He turned, confirming her shock.

Sakura took a look at him and she was surprised at how he looked.

He changed a lot.

When he went missing for those three weeks, Sakura, Hinata as well as Ino and Hinata's cousin Neji were worried sick.

When he reappeared, Sakura couldn't get him alone long enough to ask him where he was all this time. She wished that she had more time to question him more, but there wasn't enough time.

Her new duties as a Genin ninja and her missions didn't help either.

So here he was, apparently here to help...

She hoped.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I could say the same to you...you are here as backup right?" Sakura asked, getting a bit wary from his appearance.

She hoped he was here to help...

"Well...not exactly..." He answered and a feeling of cold dread washed over her. One thing stood out to her at that moment.

"If you're not..." She trailed off, pulling out a kunai, a sharp knife standard to all ninja. A sickening feeling welling up from her stomach was rampant as she...

She realized that as a mercenary, Naruto could be bought at anytime.

Turned out, he was.

**X-X**

"If you're not..." She trailed off, making Naruto's instincts flare up.

What was going on? Why was she holding her weapon against him?!

Oh no...could it be?

Did she think he was a traitor?

"Wait, Sakura-!" He was forced to jump back when Sakura jumped forward in an attacking motion.

"No! You came from the other side! That man's corporation is on that other side!" She shouted as she threw her weapon at him, which he deflected with his blade.

"But I'm not with them!" Naruto defended, trying to make her see reason.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take that at your word!" She said as her demeanor changed. Naruto could feel that Sakura was tapping into an energy...was it Bishamonten aiding her?

A slightly golden-white aura covered her fists and she stood in an unfamiliar stance.

"I will stop you!" She said, her voice a mixture of both Sakura and Bishamonten's. Her voice was mostly used, but he could hear Bishamonten's voice underneath.

Sakura charged, and swung with all her might at Naruto, who tried to block with the flat edge of his blade. It proved costly to his defenses as the blade vibrated when the super powered punch hit it. The force was strong enough to throw him from his stance and into a few feet from where he was standing.

That was one heck of a punch!

Naruto gritted, he didn't want to do this, but he had to defend against his unexpected foe.

"What happened, Sakura?!" He shouted to the girl, who remained silent. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he studied the girl. What happened to make her this way?!

A flapping of wings told him that Kushina was by his side again, and was ready to assist in his battle.

"Alright, Kushina, we're fighting Sakura." Naruto told his partner, who was shocked at their new foe.

"I know! I think that somehow that dark energy might be responsible." He told her, remembering that blast of dark energy bursting outward.

"Let's go!" He told his partner as both of them went on the counterattack. Sakura saw them coming and readied herself, ready for the attack.

**X-X**

Elsewhere, Sasuke Uchiha was wondering where his life went wrong.

He was certain that his useless teammate was the cause of it though.

His teammate, which he refused to acknowledge his status as part of this team or even his identity to his memory had somehow got it in his brain that he had to play hero.

He was doing better on his own in that dome against that one androgynous ninja when he came rushing in to the dome, determined to make his life harder than it should be.

First he spouted off about some strategy that he thought would work, and began making clones of himself...only that he didn't use his normal technique.

He shouted something about shadow clones, and then it was when it all went to hell.

A dark aura surrounded the boy and some sort of clone came out of it, but it looked wrong to him. Each clone had this sadistic smile on each face and seemed to take only a step forward before dissolving back into the aura.

Sasuke's instincts told him to get the hell away from there as soon as he could. He started to back away when he felt something grab him from behind. He turned to see a mirror like object pulling him by the back of his collar and then white for one second before facing pavement again.

When he turned, he saw his opponent look at him for a second before looking at the dome, a needle of ice at hand.

Sasuke watched, and wondered what other mess he had to clean up.

**X-X**

He was here...to be the hero!

He was here...to be Hokage!

If he did this...then Sakura-chan would like him over Sasuke!

**Yes...Yes!**

**The old man would certainly give him the seat if he was the hero!**

**Yes...use it!**

**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**

**X-X**

"Grr...!" Naruto growled as he parried another of Sakura's shattering punches. Her attacks were bent into trying to destroy his blade, rather than his body. Which was good...until the blade broke from any more punches. Then...not so good.

Fortunately, the sword given to him by those elders was much more resilient than Gouto's blade, despite it being the same thing.

Finally, another punch connected and he had enough.

"That does it! Sorry Sakura, but I can't have two people attacking me from both sides!" Naruto warned the attacking hybrid and set his stance into attacking the girl, rather than defending against her strikes like he was doing before.

Taking a split second breath, Naruto charged at the girl, who was waiting in an aggressive stance.

He ran at her, blade parallel to her side, intent to cleaving her in two.

Wait...cleave her in two? What was he thinking...?

'Wait...no... stop!' he told his body, who would not listen to his mind.

He was getting closer, blade raised now as if to split her in two from the head down.

The girl's aura before her disappeared suddenly and the girl's eyes widened in shock. She feebly tried to defend herself but it was too late.

He swung with all his might at her, his blade nearly as fast as the air around them.

Thankfully, his blade never touched the girl at all, for another force grabbed his arm and tossed him out of his strike range and into a set of barrels nearby.

Naruto groaned as the barrels were filled with water and was soaked wet.

When he looked up, a masked individual was staring at him, his dark right eye widened in recognition while his scarred eye stayed neutral, as if dead to its surroundings.

Naruto was spared guessing the ninja's name by Sakura, who was close to tears in fright...or was it relief?

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi? Never heard of him...though he feels like he should have.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" The man, Kakashi, asked in a hardened voice. Naruto noticed he didn't have a weapon, but Naruto knew he probably didn't need one to finish him.

"Yeah...are you guarding a bridge builder?" He asked Kakashi, who was the leader of the team guarding the bridge builder.

"That's right. Now why are you attacking my student?" He asked, his arms still at his side, but ready to intercept anything by Naruto.

"I...I didn't mean to, my body was moving all on its own and..." He tried explaining himself, still trying to digest his sudden loss in control.

"He's right sensei...I couldn't control my own body either! Some weird energy swept past us and then Naruto appeared right next to me!" Sakura confirmed his story.

Kakashi looked at his student then to Naruto before nodding.

"It looked like a genjutsu, or something similar happened here. Fortunately, I canceled the effect on myself, and was just in time to stop you two." His working eye crinkled in satisfaction. His red eye didn't seem to react as his other eye, but still moved in sync with his normal eye as Kakashi gazed at him.

"So are you here on mercenary business?" He asked Naruto, who nodded.

"I was tasked to sabotage the barracks and their ferry by a town nearby."

"Town?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I used up my entire set of explosive tags and passed them off as charms to decorate the base. The rest was handled by some of the servants that were captured there." Naruto explained his mission.

"That's good, if they did it right, they should have put near a heat source to have them ignite. With any luck, someone would throw it straight into the fire." Kakashi said, laying out a possible outcome.

"Wow, we didn't even know they had a full base here!" Sakura gasped, wondering where all those thugs were coming from.

"They probably used the ferry to reinforce this position quickly. With no serious threat, they focused all forces south, probably to extort the towns nearby." Kakashi told Sakura, who was still shocked at the critical information.

"When I left the base, I was riding the same ferry and we landed on the other side of the bridge where the boss was. He was there to rally them or something, but as soon as we crossed, he was out of there."

"Crossed? The bridge was collapsed when I was there a few minutes ago." Kakashi pointed out.

"It was intact, but something snapped the cables on our end and I was the only one on the rest of the bridge."

"Our end? There were more thugs out there?" Sakura asked, suddenly tensing at the near encounter with more forces than they could handle."

"The bridge's cables snapped and upended a slab of concrete and took all of them off the bridge. When I looked over, only a few were on the water...I think the concrete crushed most of them." Naruto said grimly.

"Were you close to any of them?" Kakashi asked.

He shook his head.

"Nah, I don't think any of them were local, only hired hands."

"Good, now we can focus on what was affecting you two." Kakashi nodded.

"Sensei...what about...?" Sakura trailed off.

"Zabuza? He's incapacitated, but I think you were thinking about Sasuke?" Kakashi asked the girl, who looked away in embarrassment.

"That did cross my mind..." She said a bit shyly. Naruto mentally groaned, looks like Sakura isn't quite over Sasuke just yet...

"We also have to find out what happened to Daisuke as well." Kakashi said to the girl, whose demeanor stiffened.

"I guess so..." She muttered.

"Daisuke?" Naruto asked.

"Our third member. He rushed out to help Sasuke, but we haven't even heard from him in some time." Sakura answered. Naruto guessed that it wasn't such a positive partnership when it came to Daisuke and the rest of the ninja team.

"Daisuke might be a bit...naive, but he means well." Kakashi tried to reason with her, but she cut him off.

"He tried to sell us out...twice!" Sakura countered.

"Wow..." Naruto commented. How did they even let someone like this into the Ninja forces?

Before any more comments could happen, another pulse of dark energy began to pulse toward them rapidly. This time, Naruto was prepared.

"Not this time!" He shouted and brought his sword in a guarding motion. An offering of Chakra later, and the blade transformed into his Axe mode. The difference from normal was that the blade was glowing blue.

It seemed to work as the wave of dark energy dissipated well before it could reach them.

"That is impressive, Naruto. I have never heard of a chakra weapon repelling genjutsu waves before." Kakashi commented, looking at the blue blade with interest.

"I don't think its a genjutsu wave, Kakashi...um...san?" Naruto faltered, unused to saying an honorific to someone he could speak to without the man or woman yelling at them.

"Kakashi will do, Naruto." Kakashi replied, his eye crinkled again in humor. His determination returned as the fog started to clear slightly.

"Let's go, we can talk later." Kakashi said and walked into the fog, with Naruto and Sakura following.

Kushina was floating above them, giving a curious eye to the silver haired teacher...did she know him?

**X-X**

Sasuke stared at his opponent, looking for a reason as to why his opponent saved him.

Finding none at the moment, he looked toward the dome where the dark energy was gathered. He saw as another beam of energy shot from the top of the dome like a geyser and landed a dozen feet from them before spreading like a wave.

What was going on with him? Did he tap into something he shouldn't have?

"We should stay here for now." His opponent said after observing the blasts of energy bypassing them completely.

"..." Sasuke stayed silent.

"I'm sure you know by now that our duel is over. Whatever happened to that person in there would not have allowed us to continue." The individual said softly. The low voice made it impossible for Sasuke to discern if the person was a boy or a girl.

"What do we do now? Wait until my damn teammate stops?" Sasuke asked the person.

"Did this teammate ever attempt something like this before?" The person asked Sasuke. Sasuke shook his head. He wasn't even sure if the clod could even do a _Kawarimi_, a substitution technique, right.

"Then what happened? It felt wrong...as if he tapped into a demonic power somehow." The person mused.

Before Sasuke could answer, a set of shadows approached from the opposite side of the dome, where that intimidating man engaged Kakashi-sensei moments ago.

"Another one!" A slightly shrill voice sounded, to which Sasuke identified as Sakura. The other voice though...

"All right!" A slightly gruffer voice, but still belonging to a boy answered. A flash of blue from the fog and the dark wave actually disappeared into nothing.

"That's slightly impressive, brat." A much deeper voice sounded after the wave disappeared.

"Zabuza-sama?" The masked individual gasped out in worry and relief.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the group that appeared before them.

Kakashi-sensei walked calmly along Zabuza Momochi, their enemy with Sakura in front of them. The leader of their group was none other than Naruto Uzumaki!

"Over here! The wave doesn't hit us here!" The masked individual said in a much higher voice. It still wasn't enough to discern the gender of the owner, to Sasuke's slight irritation.

When the small group arrived, Naruto stared at the dome, which turned a purple hue. The dome was still keeping the darkness at bay though.

Sakura didn't seem worse for wear, but Sasuke found that she did fight. Against who, was another matter.

Kakashi didn't even look injured, but he was tired from fighting.

Zabuza had large gashes on his arms and legs. His upper shoulders had punctures where a set of Kunai was rammed into, possibly by Kakashi-sensei. Despite his wounds, there was no blood leaking and he could use them as if he was never injured.

Naruto looked like he didn't sleep much, but his alertness was fresh and his blade steady. Sasuke noticed the blue glow and wondered if it was a chakra weapon?

Sasuke barely noticed that Sakura said something to the tune of "Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto gave him a once over and whistled.

"You look like hell Sasuke." Naruto commented on his state of being.

"Way to point out the obvious, dead last." Sasuke muttered.

"What did this chick do to you, Sasuke? Turn you into her personal pincushion?" He asked jokingly.

Wait...chick?

"How did you-?" The person, her, asked.

"I have my ways." Naruto grinned as he gazed at her.

If her mask were clear, Sasuke was sure she would be blushing.

"Lets see now...You don't look like you've been hit anywhere vital..." Naruto guessed at Sasuke's condition.

On a second glance to the nigh infinite piercings (of what he could gaze on), he did notice that not one hit him anywhere vital.

"I wasn't able to finish up to anywhere that deadly." The masked girl said.

"That so? Somehow, I don't think that is the case." Naruto countered the girl's remarks.

She gazed away.

"Well, lets get you healed up. I think Dia would do for your wounds." Naruto said and nodded at his side.

Did any of them know medical ninjutsu? If that was true, Naruto would've gazed at the direction of either that masked girl, or even Kakashi-sensei, since Sakura doesn't know any.

He gazed at his right and suddenly a small light blue light appeared before Sasuke. The light faltered for a small second before entering his chest. Just as it entered him, his entire body felt a lot better.

It was as if he ate a soldier pill, but without the drawbacks!

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked him.

"Me? Healed you." Naruto replied.

That wasn't right.

"No, I meant that at her." Sasuke pointed to the figure next to Naruto. Naruto frowned before his eyes slightly widened in surprise.

The figure's shape cleared up and Sasuke saw an ethereal beauty before him. Her flaming red hair and slightly familiar face showed slight surprise at being seen at all.

"You could see her? That's new." Naruto said, although he didn't seem panicked at the idea. Sasuke figured that he would at least have been secretive about it.

Although...Sasuke gazed at the group.

They didn't seem surprised at all.

"You could see her huh, kid? Guess he has the potential to be another one of you." Zabuza said to Naruto, who rolled his eyes.

Another one? Sasuke questioned.

"If that's true, I think he would've approached him by now..." Naruto answered.

"I think he has his hands full with just you, brat." Zabuza said, his stare mocking at Naruto.

Naruto groaned.

"Well, he's fine now, so now we can deal with that." Kakashi said to the dome.

Naruto stared at the dome, his face set in a serious manner. Sasuke was a bit astonished that Naruto could switch personalities that fast.

Perhaps his time as a mercenary changed his goofball demeanor, or he learned to put it away faster.

**X-X**

**A moment backwards in time...**

**X-X**

Naruto gritted his teeth as yet another wave of dark energy raced at them. However, the blue glow required little effort to dispel the energy around him, Sakura and Kakashi.

"That energy gives me chills..." Sakura commented, watching the energy dissipate into nothing. Kakashi didn't say anything, watching in fascination as the blue aura weapon eliminate the foreign substance with ease.

"We'll be fine with this weapon! Lets move on." Naruto said with a smile. His confidence must've shown as Sakura smiled and relaxed a bit.

"I wonder how can we see it ahead of time, though. This fog is so thick, yet we can see it a considerable distance away." Kakashi said as he walked with his charges.

"Probably because of his weapon?" Sakura suggested. She, like Naruto, didn't want to explain the presence of Kushina. Kakashi wouldn't believe them that a girl with wings was dispelling the fog like a beacon of light.

"Could be...but still." Kakashi trailed off as he kept watch over the surrounding area. Naruto sent a small smile at Sakura, silently thanking her for her cover up.

She smiled back, accepting his gratitude.

"Hold." Kakashi said suddenly, his hand holding a Kunai in a striking position. Naruto and Sakura stopped while Kakashi marched cautiously away from Kushina's dispelling range. Hardly a minute passed before Kakashi returned, his weapon put away. Kakashi walked back into place behind Naruto, before speaking.

"Its safe, lets go." He said before motioning Naruto to continue on. Naruto stared at him for a moment before nodding. He discreetly sent a nod to Kushina before moving on.

It was then that Kakashi pulled out a giant blade out of nowhere before trying to strike Naruto from behind.

Trying being the keyword.

A mixture of Sakura's cries of alarm and Kushina launching Garu at Kakashi allowed Naruto to roll out of the incoming strike and counter with a swing of his own. The infusion of Chakra from Naruto's end allowed his pulsing blade to simultaneously repel the dark waves and maintain its secondary form with ease.

"How did you know?" Kakashi asked, his eye glaring at Naruto. His body weakened by the freak Wind Jutsu he didn't expect coming his way.

"Other than the fact that you have a giant blade on your back? You stink of that dark energy." Naruto shot back at the obvious imposter. The imposter didn't keep his eye color in check, having both eyes turn black occasionally.

Naruto noticed that when these things happened, the imposter flinched, as if wounded or exhausted.

"Let's Go!" Naruto shouted to Kushina and ran toward the imposter, ready to show him the results of trying to fool Naruto Uzumaki. Kushina, her spells ready on her tongue, flew above the imposter and started to chant her attacks.

"Don't think I'm going down that easily!" The imposter shouted, bringing his blade forward with little effort. With a yell, Naruto swung the blade down, trying to cleave that giant sword in two.

While it didn't cleave it in two, the vibrating soundwave of two pieces of metal striking each other did disorient the imposter, causing him to drop his disguise at last. The consequence of this action is that it also did the same to Naruto and Sakura.

Kushina was safe from the effect, having been out of range of the soundwave. Without that to distract her, her attack spell was completed and she pointed at her stunned opponent with a shout.

"Garula!"

The green light sped toward the ground near the stunned opponent, who was still stunned at the intense soundwave. Without a warning to defend himself, the opponent was caught up in the windstorm and was subjected to several cuts and gashes that came with the wind based spell. The attack's blades of wind magic did its job as they spared no mercy in cutting into its target. The opponent stood silent as the gashes to his arms, legs and torso bled profusely with each strike.

His silence to the painful attack served as an example to his resistance to pain.

After the spell ran out of magic sustaining it, it disappeared from the battlefield, as if never existing. Its damage was proof that an attack the force of a small tornado existed as the battlefield was riddled with fine slashes and heavy gashes in the pavement.

The battlefield did not sport the gravest wounds, however. That honor went to spell's target, who wasn't killed in the attack. For all the cuts on his body, not one reached his throat.

Naruto cheered as he regained his senses. Trust his partner to deliver payback!

Kushina smiled at the positive reaction to her attack. Having an attack that worked so effectively was so rare at times. she gazed at the target and was surprised that he was still among the living.

"He's still alive!" Sakura shouted, watching the fallen opponent's chest heave air in and out. Naruto was shocked, that attack should've have finished him, given that the attack was so close to him when it activated.

Keeping his sword ready, he approached the fallen man. Now that the battle was over and he could study him at leisure, Naruto noticed a few details about his opponent.

He had dark hair, and had bandages covering his lower part of his face. His clothes were shredded in the windstorm, revealing toned muscles on his abdomen and arms. His weapon lied useless nearby as the wind blew it away from his arms, but didn't land far away from its master. His arms were gashed from the upper joints by a kunai, but the man either had more willpower than strength to lift his blade through the pain, or the dark energy must have healed him enough to allow the use of his arms again.

Either way, his arms laid useless once more at his side.

Stepping closer, Naruto looked over the near dead man. After a moment, Naruto nodded to Sakura to come over. The man was completely disabled and not fit for combat.

"Who is he?" Naruto asked her, although he might have already guessed who he was. Sakura let out a shaky breath, reliving some unpleasant memories of this man.

"He is Zabuza Momochi...he attacked us on the way to our client's town. Didn't you ever meet?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head.

"No, I infiltrated their ranks long before you guys came, so he never showed up at their compound. He might have been a recent hire or something." Naruto told the girl.

"We should go, he doesn't seem able to fight, let alone walk." Naruto said before noticing something in the mists above them.

Kakashi had returned, his gaze neutral.

He gazed at Zabuza before nodding to himself.

"Not bad, taking down Zabuza. Even with his previous injuries, he was still a tough opponent to face." Kakashi commented.

"You saw us?" Sakura asked, eyes slightly wide. Kakashi nodded.

"I jumped ahead to see where he went and found no sign of my summons holding him in place. I wanted to at least confirm that the waves of energy coming at us didn't disrupt my summons, or at least heal Zabuza."

"Looked like it did both." Naruto noted.

"Yeah, but after talking with the summons, the waves were harmless to them. It just disrupted their connection to me after a few waves of the energy." Kakashi said before walking over to Zabuza's prone form.

"I gotta say, Naruto, your wind kenjutsu did wonders against him! I've never seen something so through before, especially with a sword." Kakashi remarked at the damage against Zabuza.

Naruto couldn't very well tell him it was all Kushina's doing. He wouldn't believe him if he told him.

"What should we do with him?" Naruto asked Kakashi, who was thinking over the question.

"I normally would finish him off, but its your decision, Naruto. You defeated him, after all." Kakashi told the younger mercenary. Naruto stared at the defeated form of Zabuza. What would Gouto do in this situation?

"Finish me." Zabuza uttered. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto stared at the request.

"What? Why?" Sakura asked, not used to hearing such a request.

"You defeated me, and a ninja who is defeated by some common mercenary deserves to die. Their career is over, regardless if they live or die." Zabuza coughed before continuing.

"Your gear, it looks so familiar..." He uttered before coughing once more. Naruto could see some blood staining the bandages.

"What-" Naruto began to question, but Zabuza didn't give him a chance to ask.

"I'm sorry..." Zabuza said before gathering what little strength he had in him to drive himself into Naruto's blade.

"Gouto!" Zabuza felt the blade pierce him...yet he felt no pain.

"What the hell are talking about?! How do you know that damn cat?!" Naruto said, his foot pushing back the weakened Zabuza off the tip of his blade. The blade barely made a cut on the man's body, with nary a blood trickle on the supposed impact site on his body.

In the background, Sakura had her hands to her mouth, eyes widened. Who would've seen that coming?

"He was my mentor, the teacher who taught me swordplay long ago!" Zabuza said, his wounds forgotten in his memories. Naruto watched as the man forgot the wounds that should have prevented him from moving being carelessly ignored.

"You got taught swordplay...from a cat?" Kakashi asked, disbelieving what he just heard. Did he really get smacked around a few days ago from a swordsman who got taught by a cat?

"Not just swordplay...he taught me things that go over your view on life, Kakashi. Before he could finish my training, it happened." He paused.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. Kakashi answered for her.

"Your exam?" He guessed.

Zabuza nodded.

"The exam came...and I became Genin. After that, I never saw Gouto again." Zabuza ended, as if remembering that he was supposed to be dying. His resistance to pain was beginning to wane and he grimaced by shutting his eyes.

"But..." Naruto began but Zabuza cut him off.

"Enough...finish me, mercenary." He said and waited.

Only the blade never struck him. Instead, a soft warm glow reached through his closed eyelids. Zabuza opened them to see Naruto staring at him while a white light showered him with blue particles that were aimed at his wounds.

Could this be?

"Are you his student?" He asked Naruto, who nodded.

"That...that's good." He said as his wounds started to close and heal at a rapid rate. Kakashi and Sakura watched as the light far surpassed any medical jutsu they knew of. Sakura watched as Kushina swept her hand above the injured Zabuza with interest. Her recent merge with Bishamonten had finally allowed her to see Naruto's trusted partnership with the mysterious redhead.

She so wished she could have someone like that.

After Kushina was done, Naruto backed off to allow Zabuza to stand up on his own. After he got up, his eyes stared at Naruto and to the ball of light next to him.

"Can you see it fully? I never could see demons, but I was always able to sense them." Zabuza admitted to Naruto.

"Yeah, I could see her, she's my partner." Naruto replied. Zabuza, who had a flick of envy across his eyes, if only for a fraction of a second, nodded.

"Be good to your partner. From Gouto's lessons, there is no bond tighter than summoner and demon." Zabuza finished while standing up to retrieve his blade. Kakashi tensed, ready for another fight, but Zabuza shook his head.

"There is no more quarrel between us, Kakashi. I've been defeated and no longer bound by my contract."

"Your contract?" Kakashi asked him, his weapon still at the ready.

"Even if I continue with my original job, the employer would still find some way to weasel me out of my pay. He did make me sign a contract, and one of the terms was that I wasn't to be defeated."

"Why would you sign something like that?" Naruto asked, wondering who would put in such a sleazy technical term.

"I knew it was there, and I knew of his reputation. But we all need to eat, after all." Zabuza said, rolling his arms in a circular manner, as if testing Kushina's handiwork. With the nod he gave out, it seemed that Kushina's work was top notch.

"I suppose you won't let me collect my apprentice and let us go?" He said jokingly. However his eyes held a glint that Naruto could tell that he had a plan already in mind if they said no.

"We can't have you fall under another wave of dark energy, so you'll have to stick with us to collect your apprentice." Kakashi informed Zabuza.

"I noticed that I felt more enraged than normal when that hit me. So that wave...screws with your mind? Kind of like you and your Sharingan." Zabuza mused.

"Kind of, but I don't think that my intention was to enrage you. I did manage to mess with your mind, so its all good!" Kakashi said, proud of his skill to unnerve people.

Zabuza glared, but said nothing.

"Naruto, another wave!" Sakura shouted to Naruto, who nodded and prepared his weapon. Zabuza watched as he prepared his weapon in a guarding motion. Zabuza guessed that Naruto, or Kakashi for that matter didn't know about the second property of chakra weapons. As far as most ninja were concerned, weapons with chakra were just stronger than normal ones.

That would soon change.

"Brat."

"Little busy here." Naruto responded, trying to gauge the speed of the wave, who was coming faster than normal.

"Swing your blade at my signal." Zabuza continued.

Naruto frowned, but stayed concentrated. The dark wave raced closer but still Zabuza did not give the word.

Just as soon as they were within arms length of the wave, Zabuza shouted.

"Now!"

Naruto swung, and was fascinated by the result. A large, crescent shaped wave of his own chakra launched away from his blade and crashed into the dark wave. The energies clashed with each other until the dark wave relented and dissipated into nothing.

"What was that?" Sakura asked, awed by the wave of power coming from Naruto's blade. Kakashi, and even Naruto himself was awed by this discovery.

"That was one of the hidden skills of a chakra weapon. It takes years to master that skill, but I figured that since the brat's weapons were...of special origin, the move would be easier to use." Zabuza explained.

Naruto grinned at his blade's hidden move. But his face took on a questioning look and he turned to Zabuza.

"How did you know all of this? You would think this was some super guarded secret of Samurai?" Naruto asked him. Zabuza nodded.

"I think that Gouto's teachings came from Samurai origin or were learned through a student who eventually created the Samurai of today. I don't really care, since I've never been bothered to learn all about the Samurai." Zabuza said.

"In any case, I learned through fighting countless Samurai on my jobs that their moves were similar to Gouto's teachings. All I did was study their movements and applied his teachings to it." Zabuza finished.

"That's impressive, but are you sure you should be talking about this? There could be people that would die for this information. Literally." Kakashi said, warning Zabuza about the ramifications of such a secret.

There was also the fact that Kakashi was interested in the technique that Zabuza mentioned. Maybe he could...

"You can try, but what takes years for the Samurai, would take months for ninja. I say this freely because that brat needs to know that he can master in days if he really is Gouto's student." Zabuza said, shocking his company.

"That sounds awesome! I'll have to try this out after I get back!" Naruto exclaimed, excited about his newest skill.

"Don't think about going home yet, you still have a job to do." Zabuza said and pointed in the direction of the dark waves, where they were coming at them slower and slower. It was as if the source of the dark waves was getting tired.

"Let's move, we don't know if the dark waves could pick up speed again." Kakashi advised the group. Naruto nodded and went ahead, acting as their sole point of defense against the dark waves, which were becoming more and more sluggish as they stepped forward.

As they reached what looked like the source of the waves, Sakura gasped as she spotted her teammate with their former foe next to him.

"Sasuke-kun!" She shouted at him, horrified at the state of being he was in. Sasuke looked like a pincushion. Naruto looked over at Sasuke and thought he was target practice for that person next to him.

Hang on...that wasn't a male... the person's height and shoulders were wrong for a male his age. He would know, his...studies into the female anatomy when creating the sexy-no-jutsu were very thorough.

In fact, he would guess that the person next to him was...

**X-X**

Naruto stared at the dome, which was beginning to crack under the pressure of the...wrongness inside of it.

"What is in there?" He asked Sasuke and that girl. Haku didn't know what was in there, only that it was the boy's teammate.

Sasuke answered for her.

"That is my idiot teammate. He thought he could be a hero and started to do a technique that was way out of his league." Sasuke said, glaring at the dome.

"What technique was that?" Kakashi asked him.

Sasuke shrugged, not fully sure of what he heard.

"All I heard from him was something called "Shadow Clone" and then I was transported out of there by her." He said looking at the girl he was fighting against not a moment earlier.

"Shadow clone? That should be out anyone's league. Only those who have high reserves can hope to create only one or two cloned selves. I've never heard of dark waves from this technique." Kakashi explained.

"Is this some mutation or something?" Naruto asked, trying to figure out what this technique was. The one probability that was commonly showing up in his list of possible explanations was that a demon interfered with the technique...or possibly...

A demon possession trying out his own version of human ninja techniques.

Naruto glared at the dome. A Devil Summoner's responsible for the well being of the human race...but there were moments where it was too late to save them, or where a human willingly accepted being possessed by a demon to gain unholy powers. They had to stop them by any means necessary, even if they had to end it.

It looked like the kid didn't know what he was doing and got possessed.

Unfortunately, there was no real way to fully restore a willing subject of demonic possession. If anything, the victim or participant died during the restoration process.

Naruto gritted his teeth, was there no alternative?

Zabuza, as if reading his mind, spoke.

"You know there isn't any other way, no matter how you look at it."

"Are you saying that its too late for him?" Sakura asked, shocked that there was no other way to save their teammate, however immature he was.

"Did he willingly summon these things?" Naruto asked, to make sure he wasn't making a huge mistake.

Sasuke nodded.

"He was saying something odd before he started that technique. It sounded a lot like what you spouted when we were younger. 'To be Hokage' or 'Taking the hat and being the best', that sort of stuff."

Naruto frowned, was this guy a copycat or something?

"Weird..." Naruto muttered.

"What's your choice Naruto?" Kakashi asked him, his sole eye on him. As if judging his character to finish the mission or finding an alternative solution.

Before Naruto could make up his mind, Zabuza spoke to him.

"Remember, letting a potential enemy live can bite you in the end."

"Even you?" Naruto asked him, a wary grin on his face.

Zabuza nodded.

"Even me, but we do share something in common." He waited until Naruto got what he was saying.

"Gouto..." Naruto said softly.

"You made your choice with me, now comes another. Spare him, or put him out of his misery...if he can even feel emotions anymore." Zabuza said stood by, waiting for the outcome.

With all eyes staring at him, Naruto had only one choice to make...

But which one?

**X-X**

**To all those who were wondering where I am...thanks for thinking about me.**

**To the newcomers, Welcome!**

**Here is the second part of this adventure, with an longer length to make up for my sporadic updating.**

**While I would like to make excuses for my tardiness, I say this: I got nothing.**

**Well, on that soul baring moment, I'd like to move on.**

**Despite myself not being on the writing scene, I have been reading fics and reviewing them and I have seen a trend of sorts.**

**Have you seen some fics that look and sound like they were ripped off from the Harry Potter Genre of Wrong Twin Fics?**

**I mean, Where Naruto has a sibling and they go and ignore Naruto for some reason? I don't know, seems unoriginal nowadays...although it might be new to those that have never seen a harry potter fanfic.**

**Anyways, I also want your opinion.**

**As many of us have done before, we have at some point read Perfect Lionheart's fics, either CED or PKH.**

**I was hooked...until the experiments started and I was deterred.**

**So I had a discussion with some of my friends who also read from him and we had differing opinions, although all of them reached that there was something off/wrong with the now missing author.**

**What I want to know is if you read them, do you agree with our conclusions, or are making an mountain over an anthill?**

**I also want to start from this point on, an inspiring song that helped me write and it will look something like this:**

**Song of The Chapter: Failotron: Return to Chiba City**

**Well, read, review and PM's are read by me, so give me your thoughts.**

**Yours truly,**

**Terra Ace**

**Words (not including the bold): 8686**

**Pages: 25**

**PS: Am I the only one who enjoys the "Legacy Story Stats"? **


	20. A World's End

Devil Summoner Naruto

By: Terra Ace

Chapter 20: A World's End.

With his choice made, Naruto walked into toward the dome, his blade at the ready. Before he could enter, two voices stopped him.

"Naruto."

"Naruto!"

Naruto stopped and turned to see Sakura and Sasuke call out to him. Sasuke looked no worse for wear due to Kushina's healing. Sakura stood next to him, a wary look at the dome, but focused her will when she looked to Naruto.

Naruto didn't need to be told that both of them were coming. They were ninja, rookie ninja, but still more than capable of taking care of themselves. They were also responsible to see if their wayward teammate was lost to demons or if he could come back with his humanity intact.

Naruto doubted the kid's chances of survival.

Naruto nodded at them.

They nodded back.

Their teacher stood back, partly to keep an eye on Zabuza and his accomplice. Who knew if they were waiting for the chance to bolt out of here, leaving them to fend off...whatever took over his student.

So with a single nod of his head, Kakashi put his trust in his remaining students, in Naruto to see them through this.

No pressure. Really.

Naruto sighed. This was way above his paygrade...

**X-X**

Stepping into the dome was a familiar experience, at least to Naruto. It almost felt the same as entering Legion's core, but the core difference was where he was allowed entry into Legion, The dome told his senses that he was not as welcome.

Looking backwards to see that neither Sasuke or Sakura had gotten lost, Naruto walked cautiously forward, deeper and deeper into the center of the dome. Behind him, Sasuke was doing the same while holding one of his Kunai.

Sakura looked everywhere, trying to find any threat that would try and sneak around them, but with everything so pitch black, she didn't find any. Her sense told her a different story. Just because she didn't detect anything with her eyes, that didn't mean that there wasn't anything out there. While she didn't hold out a Kunai out like Sasuke, she felt that she had a better weapon in her arsenal.

Her connection with Bishamonten, her guardian.

When Naruto was missing for those three weeks, Sakura had decided after her experience with the other world's...resident, she would try and better connect herself with the new entity inside her.

After looking up methods to connect with your inner self, Sakura found that drawing a small seal on a part of her clothes allowed her to speak with Bishamonten.

She had a hard talk with him, and it changed her completely.

After facing Bishamonten alone by herself, she had to reevaluate her views on life, on being a ninja and what was her worth.

She changed two things.

She changed her...pursuit of Sasuke (Bishamonten called it an obsession), instead backing off to see if he really was worthy of her affections. Sasuke was confused at first, but when she stopped asking him out everyday, he loosened up (slightly) and began to regard her as a teammate rather than an annoyance.

She also changed her efforts on everything, and she stopped relying the academy's lessons so much. Her talk with Bishamonten, as well as his lessons on perseverance, allowed her to start a small but steady regiment of stretches and endurance training to train up her stamina and chakra reserves.

Her open connection with Bishamonten allowed her some unique skills. Something that Sasuke wasn't able to copy (which made her a bit proud).

She started to use Bishamonten's demonic power to enhance her own abilities. As such, she found out that she was able to hit harder and if she was really pushed to it, start using Bishamonten's fire affinity to coat her fists in fire and strike at her opponents.

Sasuke, as well as Kakashi were surprised when their third teammate suffered from third degree burns from trying to score an "easy win". They weren't too sympathetic to the boy's whining afterward.

For a while, it looked like they were acting like a fledgling team...

Then this happened.

Now she was considering ending the life of a teammate who would antagonize her, Sasuke and sometimes Kakashi-sensei.

She really hoped that this wasn't a huge mistake that she would regret forever.

**X-X**

Sasuke stared at the back of the academy student turned ninja-mercenary, wondering how he was going to solve...this.

He had never seen this type of thing before. Dark energy? Talk of demons and now that beauty who healed him, that was a demon? Demons were ugly! She was beautiful!

Suddenly, his new found knowledge of their world being a smaller part of a larger scheme dwarfed the fact that he activated his family's treasure, the Sharingan.

While he was proud that he kept his heritage alive, learning that the former dead last was dabbling in things that hardly anyone knew made his accomplishment mean little. He thought that activating the Sharingan and training as hard as his target would be enough to conquer him and he could move on. Now that a venue of untapped power, something unknown had appeared... Sasuke wished that he could tap into it, allowing him to finally stand out of his brother's bloody shadow.

No more would they put him on top of a pedestal, praising him with empty words in order to pacify him.

No more would they look at him with wariness as if he would snap and kill them all.

Maybe he would find his goals after he finished his ambition.

Although...he recalled what their enemy said.

"_Y__ou could see her huh, kid? Guess he has the potential to be another one of you.__ "_

He said that to Naruto, who was his only link to access these strange new powers.

_"If that's true, I think he would've approached him by now..." _Is what Naruto said, which made him think.

Naruto wasn't a master, but a student of a mysterious teacher.

What made Naruto a better candidate than him?

He continued to ponder as his body was put into auto pilot, following Naruto into the darkness.

**X-X**

When traveling into Konoha's dark version, Naruto noticed that it was like entering a doorway, or a tunnel. You went in one way, the human side, and you appeared in the exact same spot on the other side, the demonic side.

This was no different. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke gaped at just how different it was on the other side of inky darkness.

Yet, the result after was completely different to Naruto.

When the two ninja and mercenary exited, the world itself looked like the dark world version of this bridge, but the world itself started to warp and change before their very eyes. Where was a dark and reddish sky, started to clear up into a misty blue, like their world. Any sign of demonic interference just disappeared and replaced itself with what you would normally see in the human world.

Trees warped by demonic power turned into regular trees and things like the broken bridge pieces realigned itself to fit perfectly like if it was never damaged.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were instantly on alert.

"What is this? How is this possible?" Sasuke asked, watching the other things revert back right before his eyes.

"Did you ever see stuff like this, Naruto?" Sakura asked him, who was looking at it happen as well. Naruto shook his head.

"I've seen this happen before, with one of my last missions. It was during the trip to Hingaku with Team Ten." Naruto explained, not seeing Sakura and Sasuke's shocked faces.

"Team Ten? You mean Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru know about this?!" Sakura shouted at Naruto, shocked that her rival and her team had actual contact with...this world.

"Ino the most than the other two, in fact, we shared our first together." Naruto said, to which Sakura squawked in indignation. She took his words the wrong way

"You mean you had-?!" Sakura started to berate Naruto, who was quickly backpedaling at the...unfortunate set of words chosen. Fortunately, Naruto was saved from further terror by Sasuke, who shushed them.

"Something is coming! Hide!" Sasuke said and hid behind some barrels, prompting Naruto and Sakura to join him. Sasuke grimaced at the cramped space as all three of them waited for whoever was coming.

"Wait, is that-?" Sakura started to ask, but was quieted by Sasuke. Naruto was watching the person in front of him, but even he could not believe it.

It was himself!

Only...

"Naruto...what is that color? Its so...you." Sakura commented, looking at him. He looked so...Naruto.

"I knew I liked the pants, but the top too? What was I thinking?" Naruto said to himself, Sasuke was still staring at the fashion monstrosity in front of him with a small smirk on his face.

When Naruto was in the academy, Naruto found the glorious thing called Orange Pants. After that, he began wearing it everywhere.

Much to the dismay of the general populace of Konoha.

That was until he met Gouto-sensei, and his fashion sense improved. Orange was an accessory to his...coolness, that's it!

But this imposter, this fake Naruto took it too far.

Naruto paused to think, was that what he would've looked like if he didn't meet his teacher?

Naruto was interrupted when Sakura quietly gasped.

Looking ahead, Naruto and his two friends watched as the sequence of events played out with a few differences.

Naruto...or rather, Naruto-2, boldly marched (although Sasuke would say recklessly ran into, despite Naruto's glares) into the dome itself, and a moment later, the three heard several shouts of the Shadow Clone technique, followed by multiple puffs of smoke.

They stood quiet as more shouts of the Shadow Clone technique carried over to their ears. After a few moments, Naruto came to a conclusion.

Naruto-2 was a hard head, solely using a single attack and expecting to win. Naruto vaguely recognized this way of thinking as his own, just before he met Gouto.

If he didn't meet the cat, would he turn out this way? Naruto believed that he would.

To Sakura and Sasuke, This Naruto copy acted a lot like their third teammate. Stupid, but the only difference was where their teammate was inept, this Naruto had some sort of unpolished talent. It was as if he was a rough jewel.

It went on for a while until Naruto started to feel a dark energy build up where Naruto-2 went in. It was vile, nothing like he encountered in Dark Konoha.

Although, he couldn't shake the feeling that he experienced it before.

Signaling the other two to stay back, Naruto crept closer to the dome and barely had a chance to defend himself when a burst of red energy slammed into him. Sasuke and Sakura gaped as Naruto was sent back forcefully by a blast of red energy.

They were shocked when the blast of energy formed into their former foe, Haku. Naruto groaned as he pushed away this Haku double to the side. Getting up, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sight in front of him.

Naruto-2 was coated in the same vile energy that he felt before. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but not at the Naruto double. He was looking at the double of himself, an unmoving version of himself.

Was he...dead?

Sakura, who knew that her Sasuke was safe, still couldn't help but tear up at the corpse of her teammate's double. Sakura looked at the demonic possessed double, was he the cause of it?

No...he was covered in needles, something that Haku was known to use.

She looked at double, did his death trigger this? Did her Naruto have something like this?

She looked at the mercenary, hoping that this was some nightmare, that Naruto didn't have such an evil aura locked inside of him...

**X-X**

Naruto stared at his double, watching him warily. His weapon guarded in front of him, ready for anything.

Kushina, watching the standoff as well, watched as her partner's double kept radiating that familiar aura. That evil feeling felt...familiar to her, as if she had known it all her life.

Suddenly, Naruto-2 growled and dashed at Naruto, eyes wild and clawed hands aiming at his throat.

At least, that was his plan before a burst of dark energy impaled him from behind. What was disturbing to those present was that Naruto-2 shrugged off the impalement and tried to attack again. Fortunately for Naruto, Naruto-2 was stopped when two other bursts of dark energy impaled him to the ground.

Watching the wriggling Naruto-2, Naruto noticed that the dark feeling he got from his doppelganger was fading quickly from his senses. The feral look from Naruto-2's eyes faded away as well, leaving clear blue eyes that held fear instead of rage.

Before Naruto could help the struggling double, the bursts of energy holding Naruto-2 in place flashed away, leaving the double free to move...if he could.

Those wounds were deep, and weren't healing as fast as before.

A slow and steady sound of footsteps coming from behind the wounded Naruto-2 crept closer, leaving Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke on guard.

What came out of the fog was something they would not forget.

His green and gray skin was rotting and his clothes were covered in dried blood. His eye pupils were were grayed out, leaving the bloodshot eyeballs bare of any eye color. His skin was open in some places, shooting out long rotted blood with every step. His clothes, as if buckling under the weight of the rotting blood, started to disintegrate as if the blood was corrosive. Naruto guessed that it wasn't that far from the truth.

But it was his headband that gave a clue to his identity.

"No...its him!" Sakura gasped, realized horror on her face. Sasuke was breathing hard, seeing the state of his useless teammate as this grotesque thing.

Naruto however, was quickly realizing the presence of one of those here.

Their teammate was no longer alive, having his soul and body corrupted by the dark energy. Unworthy people who gain demonic energy often have their souls corrupted and their bodies turn into rotting shells of their former selves.

They became little more than walking corpses, but there was something wrong with just one corpse...

They were never alone.

Several shuffling sounds from the direction of their dead teammate confirmed Naruto's worst fears.

When a corpse is reanimated, their instincts are dulled enough to block any intelligent thought and to enhance their base desires, such as to hunt and eat anything alive.

If that corpse came from the town itself, then it was in a buffet.

"Oh crap..." Naruto muttered, watching the corpse's victims follow their creator.

"What are they?" Sasuke whispered, his voice carrying loud enough to be heard by his fellow ninja. Sakura was starting to hyperventilate, watching the horrors line up. She even recognized some of them as the bridge builders and even Tazuna was one of them!

Even the little boy, Inari was one of them. A large bite mark on his arm showed how he became one of them.

"Those are corpses, reanimated humans who became a demon's lunch. I think when your teammate started using that energy, he got corrupted and became that. When he became that, he started feasting on the townspeople. So now instead of one corrupted demon, we have one corrupted demon and an entire town of corpses to deal with." Naruto said, his blade ready to counterattack.

"Can they be hurt by weapons?" Sakura asked, watching the slow advance of the undead. Naruto shook his head.

"The could, but they wouldn't feel it. They don't like fire or light based attacks." Naruto answered.

"Light based?" Sasuke asked, never hearing about a light based technique.

"Old techniques used by my teacher and myself. They do untold damage against those weakened by light, like those corpses." Naruto explained than had an idea.

"Kushina! Hama!" He told his partner, who nodded.

Sasuke watched as the power level of the winged demon increase dramatically as a shining light formed between her hands.

"Hama!" She shouted, throwing the ball of light at a corpse nearby the undead teammate. Sasuke and Sakura watched as the corpse was disintegrated instantly as the spell invaded everywhere around the demonic corpse.

"That's incredible!" Sakura gasped, watching the power of the light wreaking havoc on their enemy.

Sasuke wondered what other attacks were available to Naruto and his demon companion. That was amazing to see, and Sasuke hoped that he could use them as well. If he had the potential as Naruto, maybe his teacher could take him on as a student. It would be a huge advantage over his brother, who was his ultimate target in life.

Before they could mount another attack, that burst of evil energy started to form around Naruto-2, who was muttering. Straining to hear, Naruto could make out some of his double's ramblings.

"Its my fault...I couldn't save them..."

"Sakura-chan..."

"Sasuke-teme..."

"Kakashi-sensei..."

Kakashi-sensei?

"I won't die here! I am Naruto Uzumaki!" He shouted, his eyes clouded by that dark energy. Leaping to his feet, the double crouched down like an animal and his energy spiked as he rushed the crowd of corpses. Naruto and his friends watched as the party of corpses chased after the double, wanting to taste flesh and that enticing energy he gave off.

Naruto noticed that the original corpse, Team Seven's teammate stayed behind. Not surprising that the corrupted original had more resistance than their victims.

"I don't know about the double, but if we can defeat the original, we can stop whatever is happening in our world." Naruto told his company, who nodded.

"Can we use Hama on him?" Sakura asked.

"I don't think he would fall so easily, maybe if he's weakened?" Sasuke said, trying to gauge how much stronger this enemy was. Sasuke once considered using anything he could to get as powerful as his brother quickly, but seeing the results of their teammate...

Perhaps trying to power quickly wasn't a good idea.

"Sasuke, use any fire techniques you have. Sakura, use your link with Bishamonten to strike his body, don't get bitten by him, we don't want to deal with another corpse. I'll deal with his arms, and his legs." Naruto told them, while getting ready for his part of the plan.

The corpse walked at them, ready to eat them alive.

The three watched as the corpse walked at them, his arms slowly raising to grab them. When he was at grabbing range, Naruto struck, cutting off an arm with his transformed sword. After cutting off the arm, Naruto kicked away the corpse, causing it to fall.

That was when it started to get serious.

The corpse, watching his arm fall, howled at them. The dark energy gathered around him and reanimated his arm back to its original place. It also augmented his speed, allowing him to start running at them instead of walking at them. With his new augmentations, the corpse howled and began to counterattack. His arms raised at them, ready to tear them apart.

"Corpses shouldn't be able to run...what did you do?" Naruto asked himself, dodging the quick swipes of the strengthened corpse. Sakura saved him from a second strike by using Bishamonten to kick him away and leaving a burn at the impact site. Sasuke didn't slouch as he finished gathering the necessary chakra to activate his strongest fire attack.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!)" He shouted before releasing a giant fireball at the corpse.

The fireball engulfed the corpse, causing it to burn away whatever clothing it had before. The burning flesh also disabled whatever advantage the corpse had before, burning away the enhanced legs to bone.

It was fascinating to watch, but their fascination did not last. The burning corpse howled again and the energy started to envelop him. The energy restored the flesh and enhanced the corpse's abilities once more. The skin started to harden, giving the corpse a resistance to burns and physical attacks. When it was finished, the corpse had metal like skin, but was flexible enough to move around quickly.

Sakura met the corpse head on, punching with all her might and Bishamonten's strength to the corpse's body, only to be repelled by her own attack. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura was shocked. Sasuke began charging his strongest attack again while Naruto started to slash away at the corpse's skin. While the corpse flinched and stumbled at the powerful strikes, the dark energy instantly healed whatever damage Naruto did, making his attacks useless.

Sasuke finished preparing his attack, hoping to burn away the corpse's enhancements again. The fireball connected again and burned away the enhancements, only to have them reappear instantly and tougher than before.

Naruto and his company was stumped, the corpse just eliminated all known attacks available to them. Naruto knew that conventional attacks like Kunai or explosive tags were out of the question, since they relied on unarmored targets to do any serious damage.

But what about? Naruto looked to his side. The revolver was still in his holster, ready to be used. He never had time to practice it, since the weapon was from "The Old World" as Victor put it. The technology was long lost to them, and practicing it would raise questions that he couldn't answer.

Still, desperate times...

Putting his sword in his sheath, Naruto gripped the handle of his revolver and pointed at the corpse. Sasuke and Sakura watched as the boy's aim was shaking and couldn't steady itself enough to stay true to its aim.

Sakura, who looked at the shaking, was reminded of another student who had lousy aiming. After being told to switch hands for aiming, the student improved by leaps and bounds.

So she voiced the advice the teacher told the other student.

"Switch hands, Naruto! You might aim better!"

Naruto, who wasn't about to ignore advice, switched his gun to his other hand and found it fit better on his right hand than it did with his left.

With his aim steadier, Naruto fired at the corpse. The resulting bang caused Naruto to flinch and Sasuke and Sakura to instinctively drop to the ground, as per the standard protocol at the academy.

Doing so, Sasuke and Sakura missed the bullet connect with the corpse's skull and dropping the headless corpse to the ground.

When it was over, Naruto was the only standing, wondering why it didn't hurt as much as before. He realized that firing with his left hand hurt more because he wasn't used to gripping things than with his right.

That was interesting.

"What was that Naruto?" Sasuke asked, intrigued by the strange piece of metal. The sound was loud, but the result was incredible.

"My teacher told me its a revolver, a weapon from long ago. Its powerful, but it hurts if you aren't used to it." Naruto explained, watching the corpse if it tried to get up. It didn't.

"That was loud Naruto, and you're used to it?" Sakura asked him, trying to get rid of the ringing in her ears.

"I used it once, but only against demons. But that was with my left hand, it didn't hurt as much as with my right." Naruto said, curling his hand into a fist and out. It was numbing a bit, but the simple action stopped any further numbing.

Now if only he could find a place to practice without having ninja of every variety question him about his shiny not so new toy...

"That is a powerful weapon, Naruto! Look! It blew the corpse's head clean off!" Sakura said while inspecting the gruesome result. After seeing the result of her former teammate corpse's actions in turning the town into things like him, she felt less inclined to save him...if he could even be saved.

Suddenly, the corpse's body started to shift and struggle, causing Sakura to stagger back in fright. The three watched as the corpse summoned bits and pieces of its head in an attempt to piece it back together. It was successful for the most part, with only a bit of its head missing at the top, leaving a hole open to the world.

Naruto half glared, and looked half sick at the same time. Sometimes the demon world was gross. It didn't spare his two friends as Sasuke looked green while Sakura turned very pale.

"Oh god..." Sakura choked out, trying very hard not to throw up.

The corpse, now looking mangled and hardly recognizable as their teammate, raised its arms and ran at them, intent at ripping their heads off for their attack.

Naruto steadied his aim and fired again, striking the corpse in the body and pushing him back a few feet. The corpse didn't pay any heed to its new wound however, and ran at them again with blackened blood staining what was left of it clothes.

Naruto fired another two rounds, one hitting the body and creating another wound. The second round hit the head of the corpse, driving itself into the corpse's right eye. Watching the body fall for a minute, Naruto barely had enough time to recount how many bullets he put into the corpse when it reanimated itself faster than before. The corpse also had less stagger time as the moment it fixed itself, it tried to grab Naruto, but was kicked back by him before jumping back.

Naruto put away his gun into his holster and drew his sword once more. Even he had the sense to see that a long range weapon was no good in close quarters, and using his revolver at this range was stupid, since he wasn't sure if he could fire it forever.

Best fight it with his sword, than take a chance at wasting what little ammunition he had left at stopping the creature before him.

The corpse, now deterred by Naruto's kick, changed course and ran toward Sasuke, who was preparing one of his known techniques.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted before hitting the corpse point blank. Naruto wondered if Sasuke put in more chakra into his attack as the fireball traveled further and took the corpse away from them a good distance. It also caused Sasuke to drop and breathe heavily. He didn't want to admit to either one that he panicked and instinctively pushed more chakra into his attack. His heavy breathing and his struggle to stay standing was proof that he paid for his mistake.

Naruto spared a glance to Sasuke before drawing his sword in front of him to try and give Sasuke time to recover from his attack. The corpse had returned with even less of his head reformed as he was missing his eye from where the bullet entered. The rest of his body looked like it was missing vital skin, exposing a beating heart that was becoming black from the lack of fresh blood. His arms were missing chunks, leaving it frail looking. He didn't doubt the dark magic for one minute that the lack of flesh made that creature's arms any less dangerous. If anything, it made him stronger.

He looked more like a grotesque war veteran who took an exploding tag to the face than a fresh genin...who was corrupted by forces out of anyone's control.

Sakura and Sasuke were awed at how Naruto was taking this in stride when they could hardly control their emotions at this point.

Almost as if one, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke's thoughts mirrored Naruto's statement.

"What does it take to bring down this guy?!" Naruto shouted at the creature, getting frustrated at the relentless assault of this possessed corpse. He faced larger crowds of these things without too much trouble back when he was in Dark Konoha. What was so different about this lone creature than the masses?

"Cmon...think! What is wrong with this picture?" He mumbled to himself, trying to recreate the previous battle in his mind.

Large amount of dead slowly crawling toward him...wasn't too bad, since they were only rushing him one by one. So that wasn't it...

Unusual regeneration? No, those other creatures tried to crawl toward him, even if their limbs were chopped off by him.

After kicking away the stumbling, but still strong monstrosity, Naruto went for broke and stabbed the creature straight in the heart, before using his leg to kick away the creature impaled by his sword. As soon as the blade was free and away from the creature, it started to shake in place, as if paralyzed.

"What's happening to it?" Sakura asked, watching the strange sight.

"I think it's paralyzed." Sasuke said, remembering a symptom list of common poisons. It fit in with stunned or limb paralysis types of poisons.

"My sword isn't coated with poison...it is covered with my Chakra though." Naruto said, wondering if direct contact was the solution. Sakura shot it down though.

"If that was true, your slashes would've finished him earlier." She said, recalling their earlier counterattacks on their demonic teammate. She was impressed that Naruto's skill with his sword had progressed to where he could use it as an asset, instead of fearfully watching he doesn't cut his leg off.

That would explain his obsession with that axe of his during the academy. She always thought it was a boy thing.

Who knew that it was a training tool for his second form?

Although...she felt that she wasn't wrong with her first reason.

Sasuke on the other hand, ran through their attempts at harming the creature, and came to a startling conclusion.

"You stabbed his heart."

"What was that?" Naruto asked, taking his eyes away from the still shocked demon.

"His heart, that is his weak point!" Sasuke said, pointing at the demon's stab wound. The demon's rapid struggle made them aware that he was starting to recover from his paralysis, which made them tense at the upcoming attack.

"Does that mean that he is the focus point? I thought that the undead had an outside focal point, not inside!" Naruto said, shocked at the new discovery. Sakura, unfamiliar with the words Naruto was saying, had no choice but to believe what Naruto was correct.

"Alright! Keep him from using his attacks, stun him or knock him off his feet! I'll finish him off!" Naruto said, boosted by the information on the possible weakpoint of their undead enemy. As one, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto crouched down to close the distance between the demon, who had fully regained his movement.

"One..." Sakura said, readying whatever power she could from Bishamonten. Her voice was warping to signify their fused state.

"Two..." Sasuke said, his Sharingan spinning to gauge his enemy. He was glad that his awakened abilities gave him an edge. He could see everything move slowly around him. His enemy, his teammates, even the water around them was moving lazily, like an undisturbed pond instead of a raging river leading to the sea.

"Three!" Naruto said, and was the first to sprint forward, his blade glowing with his chakra in his hands, ready to swing sideways at their roaring opponent. Undettered by the delta formation, the monster met them head on, intent on tearing each one to pieces.

The monstrosity didn't expect them to break their formation or for Naruto to jump above him. His distraction successful, Naruto waited until the first phase, Sakura, began.

Sakura silently called on Bishamonten's power to enhance her strength as she swung at the demon. Thoughts raced around in her mind, both hopeful and disturbing.

Was she really going to do this? Put an end to a teammate?

Was her attack going to be successful? Would she not fail Sasuke or Naruto?

Was her punch even remotely useful? Would she go through him, and result in her getting stuck as he clawed her eyes out?

Sakura's thought were racing until a sole voice calmed her.

"_Believe, Sakura. Your attack will succeed."_ The voice said, confident in her.

Sakura had to smile a bit, Bishamonten knew what to say when she was in doubt.

With a hefty grunt, her fist connected.

She smiled more when the demon grunted in surprise and launched off the ground from the force of the attack. She was both surprised and happy that finally, she can be of use to her team, even if it was to put down a human who got too power hungry.

She did feel a bit of regret, putting down a teammate who in reality, didn't know any better. Hell, if she was honest, how did any of them know anything other than how Ninjas acted in history books?

She watched the demon burst into flame as force of the attack ignited an exploding tag somewhere on his body, and she questioned whether her teammate was planning to use tags for something?

She didn't know, and if she had the chance, she doubted she would ask.

Now it was time for Sasuke's part.

**X-X**

The demon bursting into flame was surprising, and he mentally groaned whether that idiot was eventually going to tell them about his newfound interest in explosives.

Knowing him, he probably would've used it in a spar, hoping to get a quick and dirty win against him.

The demon was hurtling toward him, and he had to get this right. Sharingan or no, it didn't protect him from fire, only molding his own chakra over his body did. Problem was that he didn't have enough chakra to protect his entire body, only parts of it. Even then, the process was extremely tiring, to the point of having him immobile for a few moments.

In a ninja battle, a few moments was more than enough to finish someone off, burn the body, scatter the ashes, and disappear like nothing ever happened.

Even tougher, Sasuke had to direct the momentum toward Naruto, who discovered the weakness of the possessed corpse.

But, there was a plan set and he didn't have to sacrifice chakra needlessly for this plan to succeed. His stronger leg would suffice.

Going into a stance that allowed him to kick away anything, Sasuke concentrated chakra to his right leg, and pivoted in time to kick away the fiery demon away from him and toward Naruto, who had his blade ready to slash at the target.

As expected, Sasuke's chakra protected him from the fire of the body. The strike also succeeded to knock him toward Naruto, who had a large grin on his face.

As soon as the chakra faded away, Sasuke had to grab a nearby box to stabilize himself from the lack of chakra in his reserves. He sighed, his reserves were still not enough for his expectations. His strongest chakra attack wasn't nearly half as draining as forcing chakra to act as a shield.

One thing was certain though, he wouldn't be using chakra for the rest of the day. He half thought whether he would collapse like Kakashi-sensei did a few days ago.

He watched the spectacle ahead as his body recovered chakra to his leg. While he wasn't confident in Naruto, since he didn't know him outside of the academy, he was confident in his abilities, being witness to them himself.

Now it was Naruto's turn.

**X-X**

Naruto grounded his legs, his sword at the ready for the one critical slice. He had to get it right, or this would all go down the tube.

His part, the one part where he had to cleave the demonic focus out of the body enough, so that his partner, Kushina could drive the focus out of its body was critical. Just like Sakura and Sasuke, their plan allowed no mistakes. There were no do overs.

Here he came. It was interesting that the monster growled at him, as if enjoying the fact that kicking him helped him reach his meal.

Naruto smiled grimly, how could he understand what an inhuman monster thought?

He steadied his blade, feeding his chakra and making it morph into his familiar Axe. Watching the creature come closer and closer made him jump at the chance and swing early, and if it wasn't for his lessons with Gouto-sensei, he would have.

The creature's growls were rapidly getting closer, Naruto noticed that the creature raised its arms, despite them being badly burned. Naruto also noted that it didn't matter to it, as if the creature didn't feel any pain.

3...

2...

1...

Now!

"Take this, you bastard!" Naruto psyched himself before swinging his axe at the roaring creature. His blade raised and swung just as the creature swiped at his chest, desiring above all else what was inside.

The creature never had a chance.

To an outsider, it would look like the creature simply passed Naruto intact. In an outsider's view, it would look like the creature won.

At least that was the case until the demon just crumpled in half midair before landing roughly.

There was no time to waste, Naruto thought to himself as he turned around to see the pieces already struggling to reattach themselves again.

A nod to Kushina, who was waiting for the signal, gave her very all toward the creature who would not die.

An aura of green swirled around her hands as she fully chanted the spell as fast as she could. When the pieces were about to fully reattach (she could see, with a horrific curiosity, that strings of muscles were twining each other again), she launched the powerful spell.

"Garula!" She said fiercely and watched as the orb connected with the creature's chest.

Naruto had to back away as the massive tornado gave him a crude lesson on how a blender works. He couldn't help but watch as the demon was ripped apart, but noticed that as fast as he was ripped apart, the pieces were forcing themselves much faster.

Ultimately, the spell's ferocity dislodged what they were looking for. The Focus, at least that was what Naruto was calling it. It probably had some other name, but Naruto didn't care.

A shiny black shard the size of an uncut jewel stayed still in the air, calling for its fleshy container to protect it once more. Naruto wouldn't let that happen again!

With a growl of determination and a hint of anger and anxiety, Naruto poured as much of his chakra and strength into his arms and legs as possible as he grounded his legs and threw his weapon towards the shard with as much force as possible. As much as he would've liked to strike at the shard personally, Kushina's spell was still ripping apart the demon. He realized that Kushina's spell would be disastrous to his body, since the spell did not discriminate on who it targets. His chakra-infused weapon, however, had no qualms about being scratched up, if the energy coating it even allowed it to happen.

The powered blade raced to the shard, who as if sensing the immediate danger, tried to accelerate the recovery process.

Too bad for it, that the minute the mystical sword touched the crystal, it instantly shattered into a mix of fine dust and dark magic.

The sword itself embedded itself into a chunk of the still remaining bridge. As Naruto was pulling it free (which was quite hard to do, if he could say anything about it), Sasuke and Sakura were running to him, ecstatic that their plan had worked. Well joyous reaction on Sakura's part at least. Sasuke returned to his cool facade the minute the battle was over.

"We did it!" Sakura said, glad the battle was over.

Sasuke nodded and kept a watchful eye for anything else not of this world.

He would be glad to know that nothing else would happen.

Naruto, who finally freed his sword and put it back into the sheath on his belt, grinned at the job well done. He privately wondered whether this was what he missed out on? A team to call his own, to share his adventures with.

It made him sad to know that he would possibly never be part of such a group.

Bucking up, Naruto took one last glance at the ruined battlefield before looking at his friends.

"Alright, now we need to find ou-" Naruto was cut off by a thunderous roar and the shaking of the ground they were on.

"What's happening?!" Sasuke shouted, his eyes on full alert as he watched the surrounding area...melt?

"Look! Over there!" Sakura pointed toward the town. A large red pillar of chakra was shooting straight into the sky.

"Wasn't that where your double was running off to?" Sasuke asked Naruto, who only stared at the spectacle.

Did this Naruto contain something he didn't know about? A bloodline that causes...that?

He didn't know.

He had no time to waste as the bridge became highly unstable, and started to collapse.

"What do we do?!" Sakura started to panic, unsure if they would survive. Sasuke gritted his teeth and began exploring multiple escape routes in his mind, only to find that most of them had a high chance of killing him if he attempted any of them.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, what was he supposed to do?!

Suddenly, everything came to a halt.

Naruto stared at the scene before him, awed by the lack of movement of the area. The wires of the suspension bridge stayed completely still. He found that one of them was this close to gouging an eye if he didn't pay attention.

So what caused...this?

"I did, human." Said a voice.

Naruto turned and came face to face to what looked like Kushina's cousin or something.

His broad wings calmly flapped him still in the air, his armor was shining and positively glowed with something unnatural. It wasn't demonic, but almost holy for lack of a better word.

He also looked distinctively androgynous. His hair flowed in curls, but his body had been made for a woman. His face was very feminine, but had the voice of a male.

Naruto was confused at the puzzle that was the being before him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, gauging the being.

The being, laughed with a melody in his (her?) voice.

"Child, you need not fear me, for I have come with knowledge. I am Gabriel, one of the four. I have been commanded by our lord to save you and your compatriots from this doomed world." The being, Gabriel, told the confused Devil Summoner.

"Doomed world?" Naruto asked Gabriel, who nodded. Naruto noticed that the response held little to no compassion on Gabriel's part.

"Yes, dear summoner. It is as you think. This world has lost its only hope of salvation, and therefore doomed to succumb to the ever present evils in the hearts of men." Gabriel said airily, not giving a damn about the world.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Gabriel's nonchalance, that wasn't right.

"So who was the hope of the world?" Naruto asked, curious about the doomed world.

Gabriel smiled.

"It was you." Gabriel simply said.

"Me?!" Naruto asked, shocked at the answer.

Gabriel nodded.

"Or rather, it was a version of you that didn't have such influences. A world untouched by the demonic world, and observed by the holy order. You have observed a version of you that was untainted by demonic world, and all its consequences. It was however, a version of yourself that never benefited from it either, little as they may be." Gabriel said, its eyes never leaving Naruto's own.

"What will happen to this world?" Naruto asked Gabriel.

"The world's only hope is currently expiring in that column of energy, sporting tainted bites of those you call "corpses", in a selfless move, he has received knowledge from our lord in creating the perfect barrier, to stop anyone from coming in and harnessing the power of the demonic horde. Such is the will of our lord."

Gabriel paused, watching the ever strong pillar of energy.

"As a price of the perfect barrier, he shall no longer exist to influence his world. Those who could spread his word have died or became tainted. As such, this barrier will shield the world from the horrors here and prevent anything else from coming in. Our lord has seen the ending of this world come much sooner than it would have, and as a result, can only watch as those made in his image destroy themselves. Such a pity..." Gabriel said, watching the beginnings of the world ending.

Naruto felt guilty, could his presence have doomed this world?

Gabriel shook its head.

"Do not fret child, for you are not the responsible one. That human over there is responsible, or what is left of him. He sold his soul for a taste of demonic power and in turn, destroyed a world that wasn't his own. He shall burn for eternity for his crimes." Gabriel notified the summoner.

"So, how are we leaving?" Naruto asked the angel, who nodded.

"I shall create a doorway into your world and have you and your compatriots return to your living world. I am tasked with your safe return and to collect the soul of the damned to bring it into justice."

A bright doorway appeared, covering the area around it with a soft light.

"Go now, you shall return safely." Gabriel said, its voice serene.

"What about them?" Naruto asked, forgetting that only he could move and not Sasuke or Sakura nor his partner Kushina.

"I understand." Gabriel nodded to Naruto and pointed at Sasuke, Sakura and Kushina. Almost instantly, they began moving and watching in wonder at the still world.

"Go now, your task is done." Gabriel said to the group. Naruto, who watched Gabriel for a moment longer, nodded and walked through the portal. Sasuke and Sakura followed, not daring to look at the winged being that could control time.

Before Kushina could enter the doorway, Gabriel stopped her.

"Angel, continue to watch over him, for his will shall shape his world." Gabriel commanded, its voice holding an air of superiority.

Kushina nodded once, and walked through the door.

Gabriel watched the doorway before walking to the destroyed remains of the human fool.

A pity that noone will remember such a pathetic soul.

**X-X**

Naruto blinked, and he was now back on an intact bridge. Was he back in his world?

Sakura and Sasuke also blinked and tried to remember what had happened, but for some reason, the couldn't remember why they went into the world in the first place. Was it to save someone? They weren't sure.

"Everyone alright?" An older voice called out to them. The trio turned and saw Kakashi, who was watching them out of his good eye in concern. Even Naruto, who wasn't sure why.

Zabuza and Haku were fine as well, although they sported no physical damage, their minds were still reeling from the fact of powers beyond their control existed.

Zabuza however, reminded himself that he could've been better prepared for this thing if he hadn't disregarded Gotou's teachings and shamed his teacher.

Perhaps he would venture to gain his former master's forgiveness one day.

"We're fine, Kakashi. We took care of the problem." Naruto called out to the gray haired teacher. Sasuke and Sakura nodded in confirmation and backed up Naruto's claim.

"I see, well job well don-" He was interrupted by a sniveling voice.

"So this is how you repay me, Zabuza Momochi...by turning traitor against your employer." The voice said, disdain dripping from his mouth.

Zabuza glared, he betrayed nobody!

"Just as well, I wasn't going to pay you anyways!" The voice cackled. Upon further investigation, Naruto found the voice to be none other than Gato, his "employer".

Gato looked at Naruto with a nasty smirk.

"I knew there was something off with you. You are in cahoots with them, aren't you?! Fine by me, I can annihilate you with them and nobody is the wiser. I shall continue to keep my hold over this land until they themselves call me master!" Gato said and snapped his fingers.

In less than five minutes, an army of bloodthirsty bandits had arrived to provide intimidation to the small band of ninjas and mercenary.

"How did they arrive so fast? The bridge itself was destroyed!" Kakashi asked the conglomerate owner.

Gato laughed.

"I always keep a ferry in case of rapid backup! I only stuffed my most dangerous employees on this boat under us and kept them ready to help educate these fools." Gato gloated, and Naruto's eyes widened.

He had packed enough explosives on him to destroy not only a base, but to implode the boat. If it was parked directly below them...

"We should go." Naruto said quietly to the ninjas. Sasuke and Sakura nodded, but only Kakashi realized why. Almost as one, the ninja retreated safely past the bridge in almost an instant. Gato, who had not predicted that the ninja had turned tail and ran, grinned at the open feast that was his for the taking.

"Everyone! Show these pitiful insects the price for betraying me!" Gato ordered and the mercenaries cheered. However, at the moment in time, completely unrelated by the actions above. A lone explosive tag finally received enough heat from the engine room to ignite and soon exploded, taking not only the other tags, but the bridge section that held Gato and his thugs.

The explosives were so instantaneous, that all of Gato and his thugs ignited in an instant. A large boom came from the forest and the bridge itself disintegrated, leaving only the base of the bridge intact.

A few moments later, the ninjas and the mercenary returned and watched the fallout from the explosion.

"How many tags did you store in that ship?" Kakashi asked the mercenary. Naruto sweat-dropped.

"About ten to twenty boxes" He answered, since that was all that was left of his stash after he decorated the entire barracks.

"Overkill much, Naruto?" Sasuke asked him. Sakura had a look that asked the same thing.

"Hey, I didn't expect to use that much in the first place!" Naruto tried to defend his excessive use, all the while wondering how the servants smuggled that many explosives in without tipping off the guards.

"So what now?" Haku asked quietly, her voice still wary of their nonchalance with their former opponents.

Naruto was curious about that as well.

"We're done with being company lackeys, that one." Zabuza answered, angry at the betrayal that nearly cost him his life.

"How else are we going to earn money? We can't survive forever without a source of income, Zabuza-sama..." Haku stated worriedly.

Zabuza hated to admit it, but his apprentice was correct.

"You could always register at the Mercenary guild and take on jobs from there, there's tons of clients wanting stuff done there." Naruto suggested to the out of work pair, who looked considerately at him for saying that.

"That ain't such a bad idea...we could take on jobs from them and still keep our anonymity!" Zabuza concluded and was excited at the idea. Why didn't he think of that before?

"This is where we part ways then, brat. Tell Gouto that I'm still alive and going to find him one of these days." Zabuza told Naruto before stepping back and vanishing from sight, Haku followed suit after waving at Naruto and his group farewell.

"So our jobs done then. We didn't have to fight at all today, and we learned of a secret world that destroys our notions of the principle of time and space." Kakashi said with a bored tone. Inside, he was trying to figure out how to report this to the Hokage without looking like a lunatic.

"I still need to destroy the base, I'm pretty sure the tags are still intact." Naruto said before a flash of light caught his eye. Naruto looked toward the enemy base and found it in flames, soft thuds of explosions rang through the base, destroying anything caught in its blast.

"Huh, they finally rebelled." Naruto commented as that part of the job was done for him. Good for the mayor and his rebellion.

"What about your teammate? I don't see him anywhere." Naruto asked, after watching the fireworks show die down.

He noticed that their eyes narrowed slightly before they answered.

"I don't think we can save him, but for some reason, I can't remember anything about him." Sakura answered.

"I can't remember him either. I remember everything else, but I can't remember anything about him." Sasuke said.

"That is interesting, I remember a hazy outline of a student, possibly the third teammate, but I thought it was you. How come I can't remember anything about him?" Kakashi asked himself. The fact that he couldn't remember was troubling.

"I think it was that angel, Gabriel. It might've done something to him that probably erased him from our memories." Naruto suggested, feeling that he was on the right track.

"Think so? I can't help but feel that's the reason why." Sakura commented on Naruto's conclusion.

After a moment of silence, Sakura turned to Naruto.

"What are you going to do now?" Sakura asked him, wondering how the life of a mercenary worked.

"I go and collect my pay from the guild and then I head back to Konoha." Naruto answered. Sakura looked at him worriedly and even Sasuke seemed troubled to leave him alone. It was all resolved when Kakashi spoke up.

"We'll accompany you, Naruto. No sense in not taking a detour when our job is done. The bridge still needs to repair itself, but that will take at least a week or two while all the workers recover and get enough materials again."

Naruto stared at them in surprise. Nobody ever volunteered to help him in anything.

He smiled, was this how a team acted?

He sure hoped so.

Kushina, who remembered Gabriel's orders, watched happily at her partner. Yet she couldn't help but feel sad for the other version of Naruto who was doomed in that world...

**X-X**

Naruto groaned, his body felt so heavy.

If only those things hadn't chewed him up good...

Well, if he was going down, he would make sure that nothing like this reached back home...

A sudden whisper of words reached his brain and immediately, he acted on them.

A series of seals later, all the energy that he had shot upwards into the sky and enveloped him in a protective circle. His vision was fading fast as he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He vaguely remembered something gross and evil looking but he didn't care anymore.

As all the energy rushed out of him and into the sky, he took one last breath and prayed that he was protecting the world.

As his vision failed him, his ears picked up a set of footsteps stopping near him and then?

Nothing.

**X-X**

**And that is the end of this chapter!**

**I've many reasons for uploading so late, but I can't deem them fit to grace this Author's note. They're all petty and weak anyways!**

**So, what do you guys think? Drop a PM or Review and let me know!**

**Thanks!**

**Terra Ace.**

**(word count of this chapter): 9298**


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